When Sushmita Sen Was labeled “Difficult” When She Was Working With The Khans
Sushmita Sen’s punctuality once made her "difficult to work with" in Bollywood. Find out how the Taali actress handled industry norms while working with the Khans and other A-list stars.
Sushmita Sen Bollywood Discipline (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Bollywood diva Sushmita Sen was one of the most successful actresses in the 1990s. However, the actress once revealed that she was titled ‘difficult to work with’ due to her discipline.
In an interview with Siddhart Kannan, former Miss Universe, she spoke about her initial years in the industry and her work discipline. She shared, “When I joined the industry if you have a film with one of the Khans or one of the major A-list actors, you don’t talk about the shift time, number of days, and all that. You bend backward and do the film. And I started asking for 8 or 10 hours with makeup and hair. Mai time par aaungi, time par chali jaungi. It is a system I even follow today. I will never be late, but I will leave on time. Sometimes, when you finish a set, an actor leaves or is unwell. Of Course, you accommodate, but not as a way of life.” So, first, they had a problem with that. Attitude de rahi hai samajhti kya hai apne aapko.. Who works like this, Blah blah blah.”
The Taali actress added, “Then someone audaciously hired me with those terms and conditions and realized that my punctuality ensured everything ran smoothly, but it also saved the production money.”
Further, she shared how she stood by her discipline even when working with prominent figures like Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal, and Akshay Kumar in the film Aankhen (2002). She recalled, “I would fold my hands and respectfully say, ‘Sir, my day’s work is complete.’ Not to offend anyone, but to follow a discipline. That might have backfired then, and many people were like, ‘She is difficult to work with.’ Nobody says you come on time and wait for the hero for 6 hours. But I was like, even if the actor is late by 6 hours, I am ready to wait. I’ll put on full hair and makeup, sit down and wait. But when it’s 6 o’clock, it’s my pack-up time. I leave, it isn’t easy. At that time, it was difficult to tackle. But today, people respect that.”
Sushmita Sen concluded the conversation by sharing, “It has taken me 30 years for people to respect that time is how we measure life. You cannot waste someone’s time, and you cannot be unpunctual.”
For the unversed, Sushmita Sen was the first Indian woman to win the Miss Universe international beauty pageant in 1994 at 18. She marked her Bollywood debut in the film Dastak (1996).
