When Karisma Kapoor had to do 15 retakes of Dil To Pagal Hai song due to Shahid Kapoor; asked, ‘kaun hai ye’

Karisma Kapoor has appeared in many movies since she made her debut with 1991 film prem Qaidi at the age of 17. The 1997 film Dil To Pagal Hai, in which Karisma starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, remains one of the most popular films of her career. The actor, who is celebrating her 48th birthday on Saturday, also won the National Award and the Filmfare Award in the ‘best-supporting actress’ category for her portrayal of Nisha in the movie. Also Read| Kareena Kapoor relishes fish delicacy with sis Karisma Kapoor, their BFF Amrita Arora: ‘Yummy in my Sunday tummy’

The songs in the musical drama were also a massive hit, including Le Gayi, which was picturised on Karisma and Shah Rukh and featured an elaborate choreography with several background dancers. The dancers were the students of Shiamak Davar’s dance academy, and one of them was Shahid Kapoor, who made his Bollywood debut six years later. While it’s common knowledge that Shahid was a background dancer in the song, he had once revealed that he had even caused Karisma to deliver 15 takes in one of the scenes.

In the film, Le Gayi was meant to be a performance by a dance troupe, which is why it was crucial that Karisma and all the background dancers performed in sync. However, Shahid’s hair had other plans, and ended up embarrassing him in front of Karisma. He told Filmfare, “There was one guy who was slightly offbeat. I swear, with really big hair on his head, that’s me. I remember I won’t call her Karisma because at that time she was Karisma Kapoor, had to do 15 retakes because of me.”

Shahid further recalled, “And, once she turned back and said ‘Ye kaun hai? Kaun hai ye? (Who is this)’ And, I was like hiding myself and saying ‘Main nahi hoon, main nahi hoon (it’s not me).’ I had just joined Shiamak Davar and my hair used to settle down half a beat after I settled down. So, it was actually not my fault. It was just the length of my hair.”

Karisma was last seen in the 2020 ZEE5 series Mentalhood, which also marked her OTT debut. She is currently filming for Brown– a suspense thriller by Abhinay Deo, based on Abheek Barua’s book City of Death. Karisma, who will reportedly play a detective, will mark her comeback in a full-fledged role in this film. Her last film which featured her in a lead role was the 2012 film Dangerous Ishhq. Brown will also mark the comeback of Helen.