In a recent interview, actor Isha Koppikar recounted a striking incident from the set of her 1998 Telugu film Chandralekha, where she was slapped 14 times by co-star Nagarjuna Akkineni to achieve an authentic scene. Koppikar, committed to method acting early in her career, explained that she struggled to convey the required anger for a particular sequence. To capture the genuine emotion, she urged Nagarjuna to slap her for real.
“I was a fully committed actor, wanting to perform in a real, methodical way,” Koppikar told Hindi Rush. “When he was slapping me, I couldn’t feel it. This was my second film, so I said, ‘Nag, you really need to slap me.’ He was hesitant, saying, ‘Are you sure? No, I can’t.’ But I insisted, ‘I want that feeling. I’m not feeling it right now.’ So he slapped me, but softly at first.”
The director, unable to capture the desired expression, called for multiple takes, resulting in Koppikar being slapped 14 times. By the end of the shoot, she had visible marks on her face. “In an attempt to look angry, I got slapped 14 times,” she recalled. “I literally had slap marks on my face. Poor guy, he sat me down and kept apologizing, but I told him, ‘I asked for it, why are you saying sorry?’”
Directed by Krishna Vamsi, Chandralekha was a Telugu comedy-drama and a remake of a Malayalam film of the same name. The film featured Nagarjuna, Koppikar, and Ramya Krishnan in key roles. Koppikar, known for her work in Bollywood films like Krishna Cottage, Pinjar, Kya Kool Hain Hum, and Don, last appeared in the 2024 Tamil sci-fi film Ayalaan, which earned ₹76.5 crore globally and received positive reviews.
