Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore has looked back on her experiences of working with some of Bollywood’s biggest stars, recalling how punctuality was a major issue for several actors during that era. While she praised Amitabh Bachchan for his disciplined work ethic, she admitted that co-stars like Sanjeev Kumar and Shatrughan Sinha were known for arriving hours after their scheduled reporting time.
In a recent interview, Sharmila Tagore shared that actors would usually be ready with their makeup and costumes by 9:30 am but some leading men would only reach the set around 11 am. Speaking about Shatrughan Sinha, she said he often arrived according to his own schedule rather than the planned call time.
She contrasted this with Amitabh Bachchan’s professionalism, recalling an incident from a film directed by Raj Khosla, where Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha were working together. According to Sharmila, Amitabh always reported exactly on time, whether the shift began at 7 am or 2 pm. On the other hand, Shatrughan Sinha would arrive much later, sometimes just as Amitabh was leaving after completing his scheduled shift. She jokingly remarked that the constant scheduling problems left Raj Khosla extremely stressed and he even lost his hair.
When asked if she ever tried to convince her co-stars to be more punctual, Sharmila admitted it was largely pointless. She said they had become accustomed to working that way and rarely changed their habits, despite repeated delays affecting the entire production.
One of her strongest memories involved Sanjeev Kumar, affectionately known as Haribhai, during the shooting of Mausam, in which she played a s*x worker. Sharmila recalled that it was among the first few days of filming and she was fully prepared for a 2 pm shift. However, Sanjeev Kumar reportedly arrived only around 8 pm, leaving her extremely frustrated.
Unable to control her anger, she confronted him and scolded him for nearly an hour. However, Sanjeev Kumar remained completely calm, casually speaking to his secretary and showing little reaction. Eventually, director Gulzar stepped in and requested them to shoot at least one scene.
Sharmila Tagore said Sanjeev Kumar was fully prepared once the camera rolled, while she struggled with multiple retakes because her anger had affected her own performance. That moment made her realise that getting upset over his habits only made her work more difficult.
Although the two continued acting together in several films afterwards, they barely spoke to each other. Things changed after Sharmila watched Sanjeev Kumar’s performance in Aandhi. Impressed by his acting, she went to his room, acknowledged that despite their differences and he being an awful person, still he was an exceptional performer, and suggested they put everything behind them and focus on making good films together. She concluded that since no one could change his habits, accepting them was the only practical option.
Well, punctuality is certainly very important, what do you say?
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