We have heard of heroines backing off and refusing to do do kissing scenes in bollywood. But according to the source on the sets of "STRANGERS", surprisingly Jimmy Shergill backed out of the lip lock scene with Nandana Sen on the day of the shoot.
According to reports, it was supposed to a very emotional intimate moment between Jimmy and Nandana that culminates in the lip lock. Director Anand Rai had earlier explained to Jimmy about the scene which required the actors to kiss. Though the director was a bit skeptical whether Nandana would do it, he was apparently caught off guard when Jimmy refused to do it.
But director Anand Rai justifies his lead actor, " Though I had explained the scene, I understand that actor sometime are not comfortable doing intimate scenes on screen. When I set out to make Strangers, I was clear that my film was about relationship. Therefore a kissing scene with Nandana or the semi-nude scene of Sonali Kulkarni, though important for the emotional turmoil the character goes, I was always flexible for options and pointers from the star cast."
When Jimmy was asked for his reaction he clarified that, when he heard the initial narration from the director he was sure, it wasn't a must do sequence in the film and made it clear that he didn't want to do it. According to him even the director understood it and was cool about the whole issue.
Lip lock or no lip lock in STRANGERS seems like Jimmy Shergill joins the bandwagon of actors like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan who do not kiss on screen!!
STRANGERS produced by Sahara One Motion Pictures is slotted to release on December 7th 2007.