"Rinsed my mouth with dettol," says Neena Gupta about first kiss

Renowned Indian actress Neena Gupta recently shared her experience of filming the first-ever lip-to-lip kissing scene on Indian television. In an interview for up coming movie, Lust Stories 2, she disclosed that the scene, which involved co-star Dilip Dhawan, took place on the Zee TV show Dillagi several decades ago.

Despite her initial apprehension and lack of emotional connection with Dhawan, Gupta managed to convince herself to perform the scene. However, it was eventually removed from the show.

Gupta admitted that she struggled with the idea of kissing someone she wasn't in love with and spent a sleepless night pondering how she would approach the scene. She acknowledged the challenge of stepping outside her comfort zone as an actor and likened it to other acting challenges like crying or laughing scenes.

After completing the scene, Gupta revealed that she rinsed her mouth with Dettol, highlighting the discomfort she felt during the intimate moment.

The decision to remove the kissing scene from the show was made by the channel due to negative audience reactions. Initially, the channel had intended to promote the scene as the first kissing scene on Indian television. However, considering the conservative cultural norms and the fact that households at that time typically had only one television, the channel decided to remove the scene.

Concerns were raised about viewers watching the scene with their children, leading to the decision to edit it out.

Neena Gupta also reminisced about another challenging love scene she performed in the 1984 film Utsav. Playing the role of Madanika, a courtesan slave, Gupta engaged in intimate scenes with actor Shankar Nag. She expressed that filming such scenes was always difficult for her, emphasizing the emotional and physical discomfort she experienced.