Renuka revealed that portraying her character’s death on-screen was a challenging task.
Renuka Sahane had once disclosed that Sooraj Barjatya was apologetic throughout the day when they had to shoot her character’s death scene.
Sooraj Barjatya’s blockbuster Hum Aapke Hai Koun brought families closer when it hit the screens in 1994. One particular moment that left hearts shattered was the scene where Pooja, portrayed by Renuka Shahane, tragically falls down the stairs and dies. While filming the emotionally charged scene, Barjatya repeatedly apologized to Shahane, not because she was scared to perform the fall but because of the scene’s intensity. Even Reema Lagoo found the scene challenging. In an earlier interview, Renuka had disclosed that the filmmaker was apologetic throughout the day when they had to shoot the scene.
Recalling the shoot day, Renuka shared, “The day we had to shoot for the scene where I fall from the stairs, Sooraj Barjatya kept apologising to me. I told him, ‘Sir aap itna sorry kyun keh rahe hain, ye film ka hissa hai. It is not real (Sir, why are you apologising, this is just a part of the film)’. He gave sponge stairs to fall on as he didn’t want anyone to get hurt on his set. It was funny that he kept apologising for something which was part of the script.”
According to Renuka, portraying her character’s death on-screen was a challenging task, as dying in front of the camera is no easy feat. She shared that Barjatya had specific instructions for the scene – he wanted her face to appear calm. However, Renuka found it hard to keep her eyes still, and Barjatya had to constantly remind her to breathe calmly. “My eyes kept fluttering. If you look at it in the movie, you won’t see my eyes shut completely as they couldn’t show that,” she added.
The emotional scene was eventually filmed, leaving everyone on the set in tears. Even after the director called for a cut, Reema Lagoo, who played Renuka and Madhuri Dixit Nene’s mother in the film, continued crying. “She was crying even after going back in the makeup room,” Renuka reminisced.
Hum Aapke Hain Koun…! starred Madhuri Dixit Nene and Salman in lead roles and is considered a classic.
