New Delhi:

Vishal Bhardwaj has recalled an awkward moment from his time shooting an intimate scene, revealing that an actress once asked him, “Are we going to use tongue?” The filmmaker said he then had to question the male actor, making the whole situation even more awkward.

Vishal Bhardwaj spoke about the experience while discussing his segment Kama’s stories 3Starring Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth. The filmmaker also explained how the advent of proximity directors has made it easier to handle such scenes on film sets.

Recalling a time when intimacy directors were not a regular part of the shoot, the filmmaker said the actors had to directly discuss details that could make everyone uncomfortable. He told Variety India, “I remember actresses coming up to me and asking, ‘Sir, are we going to use tongue in this? Can you ask the male actor?’ I mean, it’s so weird. I asked the actor his question. Can you imagine how awkward that would be?”

Vishal Bhardwaj said the presence of a proximity director now removes this discomfort. Calling it “incredible”, he explained that proximity directors “make life on set comfortable” and allow filmmakers and actors to access intimate scenes more easily.

The filmmaker had another advantage during his shooting Kama’s stories 3 Khand – his lead actors were already comfortable with each other. Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth, who are married, play the central characters in his story.

Vishal Bhardwaj recalled that the actors’ expressions helped reduce awkwardness during filming. He said, “They were very comfortable with each other, of course, you know, because they’re husband and wife. So that took away 50% of the awkwardness.”

He then shared an incident involving body doubles. For one shot, the camera focused on Aditi’s legs while Siddharth had to crawl. Doubles were arranged for both the actors, but Aditi decided she wanted to do the shot herself.

Vishal Bharadwaj recalled, “We had doubles for both of them. So, you know, we had the camera on his legs, and Siddharth had to crawl. When Aditi saw that, she said, ‘But my legs aren’t that thick.'”

Aditi eventually insisted on doing the shots herself, while Siddharth also played his part.

Kama’s stories 3 Netflix’s collection is the third installment in the franchise. The film brings together four stories directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra and Vishal Bharadwaj. It also stars Radhika Apte, Konkana Sen Sharma, Vijay Verma, Ali Fazal and Radhika Madan.

Also Read | ‘What are we trying to achieve?’: Radhika Apte being asked to do an action scene wearing “a bra and underwear”