Shekhar Suman is the toast of the town, thanks to his compelling performance in the Netflix series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. His role as Nawab Khan Bahadur Zulfikar Ahmed and certain intimate scenes that he is a part of in the project have made headlines. However, this is not the first time Shekhar Suman has dealt with such complex roles and scenes. At the age of 22, Shekhar Suman featured opposite Rekha in the 1985 film Utsav. On the Honestly Saying Podcast, he spoke about the project that catapulted him to nationwide fame. He also revealed a funny anecdote from the sets of Utsav, when he was pranked by director Girish Karnad, and producer Shashi Kapoor. He said, “Shashi Kapoor and Girish Karnad had played a prank on me once because Utsav was an erotic film. They said in one of the scenes you will have to expose your bum. I said, ‘What!' They responded, ‘Ya, we're showing your backside, you're making love, you're standing against a window and then walk and you're naked'. I started crying and said, ‘I can't do nude scenes. Please sir'.” Seeing the actor visibly distressed, the duo burst out laughing and assured him that they were just pulling his leg.
Recounting his experience of the sets of Utsav, Shekhar Suman added: “When I came on the sets, I was so young and I was carrying a baby, and Shashi ji didn't ask, ‘Who is that'; he asked, ‘What is that?' I said he was my son and he said, ‘First of all I don't believe you are married now you are giving me another surprise saying he's your son. Stop the shooting for a while. You guys come and stand here.' So Alka [Shekhar Suman's wife] and I were standing with a baby and he looked at the entire crew and had a very mischievous smile. He said, ‘Yeh dekhiye bacchon ne milke baccha paida kiya hai [Look, the children have produced another child]'.”
Shekhar Suman also attributed the success of his nuanced performance in the film to the support from co-star Rekha, who was already a superstar. Explaining how he dealt with performing the intimate scenes in the film, Shekhar Suman said: “I guess it was part of my profession that I had to do it honestly. I didn't think of it as if I was doing an “erotic scene”... it was part of the script and part of my character that I had to do it. I got tremendous support from Rekha and tremendous support from Girish Karnad,” he said, adding that they assured him that they were all professionals. They asked Shekhar not to be scared or hesitant while working on the scenes. He added that Rekha gave him latitude and leeway to perform. “That gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “Any scene that I did with her [Rekha], it is thanks to the confidence and cooperation that she gave me that I could do those scenes. So, I would forever be indebted to her for her professionalism and making me comfortable.”
Heeramandi is available for streaming on Netflix. The project has been helmed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.