Chunky Panday recalls when he ‘badly’ burnt Neelam Kothari’s leg: ‘Whole calf peeled off. It was horrible’

Chunky Panday has recalled an incident when he burnt his co-actor Neelam Kothari Soni’s leg while shooting for their first film together. Chunky had starred opposite Neelam in his first film, Aag Hi Aag (1987), produced by Pahlaj Nihalani.

Chunky Panday spoke about the incident in an interview with a leading daily. He said, “My first heroine was Neelam. I remember jab maine film sign ki thi (when I had signed the first film) Pahlajji told me that you’ve Neelam opposite you I went mad because humlog Neelam ke fan hua karte the (we used to be fans of Neelam)… Oh my God, I feel so bad for her because I’m a big culprit… When I signed the film I told Pahlajji I know everything. Main gaadi bhi chalata hoon, main ghoda bhi chalata hoon, motorcycle bhi chalata hoon (I can drive a car, ride horse and motorcycle)… But I could only drive a car, I couldn’t drive a motorcycle or ride a horse.”

He continued, “I remember there was a scene where I had to take Neelam on a motorbike and escape from the shaadi ka mandap (wedding altar). I had done a little bit of training but I still wasn’t as good and I dropped her on the bike. Us bichari ka pair jal gaya (She burnt her leg). I felt so bad and I apologised and apologised and it was horrible. So I actually hurt her in the first film with me… She was very strong, she continued because she didn’t break her leg but she burnt it very badly. But she was a very hard-working and strong girl and she just bandaged it and went back to work. But it was horrible… the whole calf had peeled off literally and I’m the culprit because I dropped her from the bike.”

Recently, Neelam Kothari Soni appeared as a guest judge in an episode of Super Dancer 4. She rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s and featured in Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives last year. She appeared along with Maheep Kapoor, Bhavana Pandey, and Seema Khan. During the show, she contemplated making a return to acting.

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Chunky had a successful start in Bollywood, but, by his own admission, he was ‘forgotten’ by the industry. He developed a huge fan following in Bangladesh. After half-a-decade, he returned to Bollywood at the insistence of his wife.