In Bollywood films, intimate or sex scenes often seem effortless and real. But we may not realise how technically challenging these scenes are and how awkward they can be to film, as the actors are “getting intimate” in a room surrounded by blinding lights and crew members.
Here are all the times celebrities like Bhumi Pednekar, Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and others shared their experiences about filming intimate scenes.
5 Bollywood celebrities who got real about what’s it really like filming intimate scenes
1. Bhumi Pednekar
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In Lust Stories, an anthology of four short film segments, Bhumi Pednekar essayed the role of a house help, who has a complex relationship with the owner of the house. Talking about how nervous she felt filming the sex scene with Neil Bhoopalam, she told Bollywood Hungama, “When I did Lust Stories, I was nervous. It was a ‘full throttle’ orgasm, we didn’t have any intimacy coordinator at that time.”
“This is the most naked I can be in a room full of people. I barely had any clothes on and we have protection and technically done, but still, between Neil and I, we had to sit down and say that these are our boundaries. Just that conversation between your director, you and your co-actor was so important because you are in a moment and it’s no different,” she further added.
2. Deepika Padukone
© Dharma Productions
Deepika Padukone’s intimate scenes with Siddhant Chaturvedi in Gehraiyaan stirred quite a bit of controversy at the time of its release. But in an interview with ETimes, she shared how filming those bold scenes wasn’t easy: “Shakun (the film’s director) gave me and all of us the comfort, you feel safe and secure because intimacy is not easy. It is not something that we ever experienced or explored in Indian cinema before in a way we have in this film. So, to go down that route of intimacy and vulnerability is possible when you know the director is not doing it for eyeballs.”
Shakun Batra also shared in the interview that they roped in an intimacy director because he believes “intimacy is a very specialised field and needs a specialist to supervise, just like in choreography and action.”
3. Radhika Apte
© Ajay Devgn FFilms
Whether it’s Parched or The Wedding Guest, Radhika Apte has also given intimate scenes in many movies. Once in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, the actress opened up about how essential it is to hire an intimacy coordinator while shooting for such scenes, as they create a safe environment. “People do get exploited, and to be honest with you, people who exploit, don’t necessarily do it with the intention either,” she said.
Recalling a situation where she was told to do something under a lot of pressure, and she agreed to do it, she further added, “I said ‘I’ll do it’ because I did agree with the vision and I did agree that was necessary, so I did it. And I didn’t think about the fact that how it was done was wrong. And my agents lost it, and they were like, ‘This is not okay’.”
4. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
© Dharma Productions
While talking about her intimate scenes with Ranbir Kapoor in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Aishwarya told Filmfare, “It is about how you approach a character and doing that is relevant to times from 20 years ago. It is done in a classy way. It is not frivolous sensuality on screen. Karan would’ve liked a lot more intimacy. But I’ve not gone beyond in terms of my comfort space.”
5. Sonakshi Sinha
© Balaji Motion Pictures
In an interview with Anupama Chopra of Film Companion, Sonakshi Sinha opened up about her discomfort with filming intimate scenes, saying, “With films that come to me, usually if there is a concern, I lay it across the table right then and there. I tell the director and the producer that ‘Okay, I’m not comfortable with this’.”
“They then have a choice to go to somebody else, but it’s never happened. Never happened. It’s not a handicap, it’s a strength. Salman Khan hasn’t kissed any of his heroines in any of his films. Neither has Shah Rukh and they are the biggest stars in our country today. I’m not comfortable with it. No point doing something that you’re not comfortable with,” she further added.
Social and lead image credit: RSVP Movies, Flying Unicorn Entertainment, Dharma Productions
