One of the most discussed and controversial episodes in Bollywood actress Rekha’s life is a kiss scene filmed when she was a teenager. Nearly six decades later, the incident has resurfaced after actor Biswajit Chatterjee’s daughter, Pallavi Chatterjee, addressed it publicly.
In a recent interview, Pallavi said that if her father did participate in the scene, he should have sought Rekha’s consent first. “It was definitely wrong. Whoever did it, consent should have been taken first,” she said.
The incident, which occurred around 1969, was detailed in writer Yasser Usmani’s biography “Rekha: The Untold Story.” At the time, Rekha was approximately 15 years old and had recently arrived in Bollywood from the south Indian film industry.
According to the biography, the scene was being filmed at Mehboob Studios in Mumbai for the film “Anjana Safar,” directed by Raja Nawathe, with Biswajit cast opposite Rekha. The book claims Rekha was not informed about the true nature of the scene beforehand. After the cameras started rolling, Biswajit suddenly embraced and kissed her. The director allegedly did not call “cut,” and the kiss continued for several minutes while some crew members present on set cheered and applauded.
The biography describes the teenage Rekha standing with her eyes closed, tears running down her face. The account sparked debate from the moment it was published, with the central question being whether Rekha had consented to the scene.
Pallavi said the incident, if true, would be traumatic for any young woman. She noted that directors of that era sometimes did not fully brief actors about scenes in order to capture spontaneous reactions on camera, but added that doing so without consent was wrong.
“Rekha was very young at the time. How would a young woman react in such a situation? Often, even when something uncomfortable happens, one doesn’t have the courage to protest,” Pallavi said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report