When Madhuri Dixit Said No To 'Wearing A Bra On Camera', Tinnu Anand Fired Her From The Amitabh Bachchan Film

In an interview, Tinnu Anand recalled that on the first day of the shoot, he had an argument  with Madhuri Dixit over her costume. He wanted the actor to wear a bra on screen but she said no

New Delhi: Women actors across the world in different film industries have spoken about various issues like gender pay gap, roles, rivalry, media intervention, private and public images and more. Many have also spoken about taking a stand and losing films because of a casting couch experience or more. In Bollywood, Madhuri Dixit also made such a move in the late 80s-90s that not many know of. Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit were signed for 'Shanakht' in 1989. 

The film was to be directed by Tinnu Anand, who made popular films like 'Kaalia' and 'Shahenshah' with the megastar. At the time, Madhuri Dixit had only lately become successful with 'Tezaab' and 'Ram Lakhan'.

In a revelation that happened in a recent interview, Tinnu Anand recalled that on the very first day of the shoot, he had an argument  with Madhuri Dixit over her costume. He wanted the actor to wear a bra on screen but she wasn't comfortable and said no.

In an interaction with Radhio Nasha, Tinnu Anand shared that the first scene he was going to shoot had Amitabh Bachhan tied in chains. "In the scene, Amitabh is tied up in chains by the villain in that carriage. He is trying to protect Madhuri but he gets overpowered by these goons. So Madhuri’s character says why are you attacking a man in chains when a woman is standing in front of you." He said.

Sharing that he had shared the entire sequence with Madhuri before signing the film, and telling her that she was to unbutton her blouse on camera and stand in her bra in front of it. "I had narrated the entire sequence to Madhuri and I told her that you have to remove your blouse and for the first time, we should see you in your bra. And I am not going to hide anything behind a haystack or anything. Because you are offering yourself to help a man who is trying to help you. So it is a very important situation and I want to shoot it on the first day. She said okay,” Tinnu recalled.

He even said that he had asked Madhuri to design her own bra for the sequence."I said you can design your bra, whatever you want. You don’t have to wear a bra but you can design your own bra, I don’t mind. But it has to be a bra because you are opening your blouse, offering yourself.”

However, later on the day of the shoot, Madhuri Dixit declined to do it. Recalling that on the first day of the film, he was waiting for Madhuri to come on set when she had not even got out of her room for 45 minutes. The actor-director said, "I asked what happened. She said, ‘Tinnu, I don’t want to do this particular scene.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry, you have to do this scene.’ She replied, ‘No, I don’t want to.’ I said, ‘Okay, pack up, say good bye to the film. I’ll cancel my shoot.'”

When Amitabh Bachchan found out about this, he coaxed Tinnu Anand to give in when the actor was not comfortable. However, Tinnu was firm as he said that he made this very clear before her signing the film.

When Tinnu Anand began thinking of actors who could replace her, Madhuri's secretary came in and assured Tinnu that she would eventually agree. However, the collaboration did not work out and Madhuri and Tinnu never worked together again.