‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ was undoubtedly one of the best films of last year. The acting was spectacular, the storyline was unique and of course, the sweet kiss between veteran actors Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi stands as unforgettable. The kiss shared between them made all generations of fans go gaga.
Now, in a recent interview with Zoom, Shabana Azmi discussed the kissing scene and revealed how her niece, actress Tabu, playfully joked about it.
The 73-year-old actress, who won the Award for Best Supporting Actress at the Filmfare Awards for the film, stated, “Tabu, jo meri niece hai na, itni shaitaan hai. Vo kehti hai aapne hila ke rakh diya industry. Ab sab aapki age ki ladkiyaan keh rahi hai ke kiss hogi toh hum karenge. (Tabu is so naughty, she teases me that I created a huge stir within the industry. She says that all the actresses of my age will do a film if there's a kissing scene in it.)”
For those unfamiliar, Shabana Azmi and Dharmendra portray long-lost lovers in the Karan Johar-directorial, reuniting after many years as their grandchildren – Rani Chatterjee, played by Alia Bhatt, and Rocky Randhawa, played by Ranveer Singh – find love in each other. Jaya Bachchan takes on the role of Dharmendra's wife and Ranveer's grandmother. Shabana Azmi, on the other hand, plays the character of a widowed grandmother to Alia.
Elsewhere in the discussion, she disclosed her favourite scene from the movie and it isn’t the widely celebrated kiss with Dharmendra. Instead, it's a head-strong confrontation with Alia Bhatt’s character regarding infidelity. Azmi praised the intensity and depth of the scene, emphasizing, "That, for me, was the most powerful between Alia (Bhatt) and me...that I like very much."
The actress went on to mention that although the kiss seemed like a minor thing to the actors, it took the audience by surprise, with people even whistling in the theatres when that particular scene was playing. Azmi, however, credited the success of the scene to Karan Johar's execution of it.
