‘Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya had nothing much to do but they were there for…’: Sharmila Tagore recalls Chupke Chupke shoot as film turns 50 | Bollywood News

Exclusive: Sharmila Tagore On  50 Years  Of  Chupke Chupke
The ever gorgeous Sharmila Tagore  still remembers every detail of the  shooting of one of her most beloved films, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Chupke Chupke, which recently completed 50 years of release. “We  had a lot of fun shooting that one. I had done a lot of work with Hrishida before Chupke Chupke,  but of a very serious nature, like  Anupama and Satyakam, which were both with  Dharamji (Dharmendra). These are not easy-viewing cinema. In one (Anupama) I hardly spoke. So when Hrishida offered  to a  do fun film we all jumped at it.”

On paper, Chupke  Chupke  sounded really bonkers. “With comedy one  never knows how it lands. I mean, we may be laughing our heads off while shooting, but the audiences  may not find it  funny at all. There is  always that risk. But Hrishida had no such misgivings. He was  sure Chupke Chupke  would be loved. And he was right!  To this day it is a  favourite go-to film whenever anyone feels blue.”
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Sharmila gives the credit for Chupke Chupke entirely to the  director. “Hrishida  knew exactly what he wanted us actors to do. We just did what he  told us. I think all of us — me, Dharamji, Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan), Jaya (Jaya Bachchan), Om Prakashji, Asraniji, Usha Kironji, we were in it for the fun. In fact  Amit and  Jaya had  very little to do. But they joined in the fun for Hrishida’s sake.”
Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan in Chupke Chupke.
Sharmila who shares her birthday with Dharmendra has very fond memories of working with him. “We’ve done  a lot of films together, not just Hrishida’s Anupama, Satyakam and Chupke Chupe, but also some other big hits in the 1960s like Devar, which is one of my favourite Hindi films of mine, and Mere Humdam Mere Dost which had  very good music.We would have  done another films together recently (Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani). But I couldn’t do the film for  health reasons.”
Sharmila Tagore and Dharmendra in Chupke Chupke.
Sharmila would like to  explore the comic space more. “Most of my films are very serious, very weepie. That’s one of the reasons I enjoyed Chupke Chupke so  much.”