Image was shared on Instagram. (Courtesy: shanthipriya333)
Actress Shanthi Priya recently spoke about her equation with her first co-star Akshay Kumar. She made her Bollywood debut with Saugandh, which was released in 1991. The film featured Akshay Kumar in the lead role. In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, Shanthi Priya revealed that the actor had commented on her complexion on the sets of the 1994 film Ikke Pe Ikka. She said, “It is a sensitive topic. I don't think he [Akshay Kumar] realised that. In front of everybody, he asked, ‘Did you get hurt? Did you fall down somewhere?' I said, ‘No, why?' He said, ‘What happened? Why are your knees so dark and black? Is that a blood clot?'”
Shanthi Priya also revealed that she “went into a depression” after the incident. The actress said, “I must be 22-23 at the time. Yes, I went into a depression. My mom was a strong pillar for us because we already faced these things in our industry, whether it is down South or in Hindi. My sister (Bhanupriya) also faced it a lot. She used to do Hindi movies. There were a couple of magazines in the Hindi industry where they wrote about Bhanupriya when she had pimples. The magazines used to talk about pimples. I was like ‘What?' We went through a lot because of our colours. Even now, my sons go through it.”
Shanthi Priya added, “I was not able to talk to him that comfortably. And I think it was my second last day on the sets of Ikke Pe Ikka. It was the climax scene and picture khatam ho gaya tha. [We shot the climax and wrapped the film.]”
Shanthi Priya went on to add that Akshay Kumar never apologised for what he said on the sets of Ikke Pe Ikka, which also featured Anupam Kher and Moushumi Chatterjee. “He [Akshay Kumar] has not apologised. But he told me, ‘I was just joking, come on man, don't take it seriously'. I was like, ‘Yeah, okay.'”
She continued, “Akshay Kumar didn't apologise like ‘I am really very sorry if I hurt you in any manner', not that way. But he just said, ‘It was just in a flow and I was just joking. That's all. It wasn't like, ‘Oh, I [Akshay Kumar] touched something very sensitive, I should have not told you that.' It wasn't like that.”
Shanthi Priya was last seen in the web series Dharavi Bank opposite Suneil Shetty.