Bollywood actor Isha Koppikar, who made her mark with films like Don, LOC Kargil, and Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love, recently shared an intense behind-the-scenes story from her early career. In an interview with Hindi Rush, Isha recalled an incident from her second film, the Telugu movie Chandralekha, where she was slapped 14 times by co-star Nagarjuna to get an emotional scene right.
When Nagarjuna Slapped Isha Koppikar 14 Times for a Scene
Isha revealed that during the shoot, she wasn’t able to fully express the required anger in a scene, leading her to make an unusual request.
"I got slapped by Nagarjuna. I was a fully committed actor that I want to perform in a real, method way. So when he was slapping me, I couldn’t feel it. This was my second film, so I told him, ‘Nag, you really slap me.’ He said, ‘Are you sure? No, I can’t.’ I said, ‘I want that feeling. I am not feeling it right now.’ So he slapped me, but softly,” she recalled.
Even after the first take, the director felt the emotion wasn’t coming through. Isha added: "In an attempt to look angry, I got slapped 14 times. At the end, I literally had slap marks on my face. Bechara mujhe leke baitha, bola sorry (Poor guy, he apologised to me). I said, ‘I asked for it, why are you saying sorry?’"
About Chandralekha
Chandralekha marked Isha’s debut as a lead actor in Telugu cinema. Directed by Krishna Vamsi, the comedy-drama starred Nagarjuna, Ramya Krishnan, Murali Mohan, Chandra Mohan, Giri Babu, and Tanikella Bharani. The film was a remake of the Malayalam movie of the same name, originally directed by Priyadarshan.
Isha Koppikar’s Recent Work
Isha was last seen in the 2024 sci-fi film Ayalaan alongside Sivakarthikeyan and Rakul Preet Singh. The movie, also featuring Sharad Kelkar, Karunakaran, Yogi Babu, David Broughton-Davies, Bhanupriya, and Bala Saravanan, received positive reviews and grossed ₹76.5 crore worldwide. Isha is yet to announce her next project.