'I am not comfortable with kissing scenes on screen. I have a limit, I can never cross it. I was asked to wear a short dress in a film. I categorically refused. I think it is not necessary to wear short clothes to look beautiful. Movies are driven by stories, not scantily clad actresses.
Raveena Tandon said this in an interview given to Frontpage Insights on her 50th birthday. Born on October 26, 1974, Raveena had many ups and downs in her career, but she never compromised on her principles. Once Raveena's beauty was much discussed. Former Prime Minister of neighboring Pakistan Nawaz Sharif was also impressed by her beauty.
Raveena Tandon never wanted to enter the acting field. She wanted to become an IPS officer. She was a big fan of the country's first woman IPS officer, Kiran Bedi.
One day he got an offer to do a film with Salman Khan. The producer of the film G.P. Sippy called Raveena's father. The film was 'Pathhar Ke Phool'. The time was 1991. The girl who never wanted to act, soon became one of the biggest heroines of the 90s.
Ravi would go to school with oil and two braids in her hair. Raveena said, 'You won't believe it, I was very fat as a child. She used to go to school with oil in her hair and two braids. No one thought that I would ever become an actress. My brother was more interested in acting than me. My mind was not in acting but in directing.
I got real exposure to the outside world when I went out for an internship. Raveena further said, 'When I was in 8th, I assisted my father for a film. After 10th, I started doing internship under Prahlad Kakkar (known ad director). From there I learned things like ad film making, pre and post production.
During this time I was introduced to the outside world. Traveled by train and bus for the first time, met people. In a way, I got exposure for the first time.
Friends started saying – just do a film, get a photo clicked with Salman When Raveena didn't want to be in films, what made her join the industry? In reply he said, 'At that time Mahesh Bhatt sir launched his daughter Pooja Bhatt. People even asked my father to launch his daughter. However, I wanted to get a job myself.
Even my boss Prahlad Kakkar used to say that as long as you stay behind the camera, you should come forward. I was getting rejected offer after offer. Then I was offered Pathhar Ke Phool film with Salman Khan.
At that time, Salman became very famous because of 'Maine Pyar Kiya'. I told my college friends that I have been offered a film with Salman. All my friends jumped with joy and started pressurizing me to sign the film. Finally I also took father's permission and said yes to the film.
Worked with Salman, but had a lot of fights on the sets Raveena said, 'Me and Salman used to fight a lot on the sets. Just like siblings used to fight at home, we both used to fight on the sets. Salman would make fun of me and I would get irritated and fight with him. Well, we were both childish at that time. Now with time we have become very good friends.
Poster of Salman and Raveena's film Pathhar Ke Phool (1991). This was Raveena's debut film, while Salman had joined the industry for 3 years.
Like Salman, Raveena has never given a kissing scene on screen. Raveena Tandon and Salman Khan have one thing in common. Both have never given a kissing scene on screen. Raveena says about this, 'I didn't know that even Salman has never kissed on screen. Well, kisses etc are very personal things. I am not comfortable with kissing scenes on screen. Now, I can never do anything that I am not comfortable with. I have a boundary that I can never cross.
Asked to wear a short dress in Shahrukh's film Raveena further said, 'I was asked to wear a short dress in one of Shah Rukh Khan's films. I categorically refused. I don't want to name that movie.
I think it is not necessary to wear short clothes to look beautiful. Beauty will emerge automatically if the make-up and dressing style is good. No matter how short you dress on screen, if the story is not strong, the film will not work.
Ravina traveled in an open jeep, people stopped and stared Raveena Tandon used to go to college in an open jeep. Whenever she passed on the road, people would queue up to see her. Raveena said, 'I had a Mahindra Jeep, I used to go to college in it. Dad taught me to drive. He used to tell me more about car equipment than about cars. They were telling me many things including step change, water coolant and over heating.
When the Air Force trolled Nawaz Sharif by writing Raveena's name on the missile In 1999, Kargil war was fought between India and Pakistan. An interesting incident happened in this war. In fact, the Indian Air Force inscribed the names of Raveena and Nawaz Sharif on the missiles sent to Pakistan. It was written on the missile- from Raveena Tandon to Nawaz Sharif
That means – from Raveena Tandon to Nawaz Sharif. Now let's go into the background of this matter. In fact, Nawaz Sharif praised Raveena Tandon in an interview. He called Raveena his favorite actress.
There is another story in this connection. During the Kargil war, the Indian Army demanded the bodies of its martyred soldiers. Then the Pakistani army made a strange demand. He said that we will give the dead body, but in return Raveena Tandon and Madhuri Dixit will have to be sent to Pakistan.
If you're a celebrity, it's your fault Raveena said that if we look at the past and present time, the attitude of people and media towards celebrities has changed a little. At the end of the interview he said, 'Earlier newspapers used to publish anything about celebrities. He was not even asked anything. His opinion was not considered important. It was believed that if a person was a celebrity it would be his fault. A little has changed in today's times. Now the side of celebrities is also heard.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
