'I Won't Be Naked On Screen': Actor Tejaswini Kolhapure On Rejecting Anurag Kashyap's Gulaal

Actor and supermodel Tejaswini Kolhapure, maternal aunt to Shraddha Kapoor and sister to Siddhant Kapoor, recently opened up about how Anurag Kashyap had approached her for his 2009 political drama Gulaal. She revealed that she had to reject the role as it wasn't substantial, and her character was required to be naked in the film - something she was not comfortable with.

What's Happening

• In conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his podcast, Tejaswini Kolhapure said, "Anurag and I were talking and he gave me this script and said tu yeh padh le (read this), I want you to be a part of this film. Main ne kaha ismein toh ladki ka kuch hai hi nahi (I said there's nothing for the girl here). What happens in this film is that she has to be naked. So Anurag said yes, you have to be naked. I was like, are you mad, how can I be naked? This is Hindi cinema. Mujhe ghar se nikaal denge (They'll throw me out of the house) if I do something like this. He said, but that's the way the role was written. So then he asked me for the other role. Jis role ke liye I said kuch hai hi nahi was the other role.(The role I said did not have anything was the other role)."
• She continued, "So when I saw the film, my colleague who was also a model - Jesse Randhawa - the film was Gulaal. That was the meatier part; I wanted to do that part but he had this prerequisite. But when Jassi did it, she wore a bodysuit. So I went to him and told him I could have worn it. Why didn't you cast me? By then he must have gotten angry ki usne mana kar diya (He must've gotten angry that I said no). So that happened before Ugly."

How Ugly Happened

Tejaswini Kolhapure and Anurag Kashyap have had a long journey together. She was supposed to debut in 2003 with his film Paanch, which did not release due to theatrical issues.

Then came the whole episode around Gulaal, and finally they collaborated for the 2013 psychological thriller Ugly.

Tejaswini recalled meeting him after what transpired with Gulaal, and telling him, "Let's do something together," and they met over a drink.

She said, "So we met and he asked, what is your state of mind? I said, same as all these years, I don't know what I am in the morning and what I am in the evening. So he said fantastic, perfect for the role - alcoholic, married woman. So the character was such in Ugly. Then Ugly happened, then he went to Cannes and said he'd come back and tell me if he got the funding and then I could do it or not. He came back and said we are on. We got selected in the Directors' Cut at Cannes. The reviews were great, very well received. But when we came back to Bombay, the film got stuck. Anurag had a condition - the statutory warning on smoking - he said he wouldn't keep it. And because of that, the release was delayed. But then he put it. It eventually released, it did well, but it did not get the number of screens."

She concluded that despite the challenges, she was nominated in the Supporting Actress category for the film, which was a success for her as an actor.

About Gulaal

Set against the backdrop of modern-day Rajasthan, Gulaal was a gritty political drama. The plot revolved around student politics and a secessionist movement driven by former Rajput elites. It featured Raj Singh Chaudhary, Kay Kay Menon, Abhimanyu Singh, Deepak Dobriyal, and Ayesha Mohan in key roles.

About Tejaswini Kolhapure

An Indian model and actress who has worked in independent cinema and theatre, Tejaswini Kolhapure comes from a film family and is the sister of veteran actress Padmini Kolhapure.

She started her career with the TV series Mujhe Chaand Chahiye, and was also part of theatre productions such as The Magic Pill and The Graduate. Her intended debut was with Anurag Kashyap's Paanch in 2003.

Some of her other known films are Raavan (2010) and Ugly (2013). She was recently seen in the comedy-drama Daadi Ki Shaadi.