When Sharad & Kamya were terrified

A snake gliding on your chest! Scary isn’t it? That’s exactly what Sharad Malhotra had to go through while enacting a scene for Dulhaan. The scene required Sindoora (Kamya Punjabi) to place a snake on Sharad’s chest and then Manish Naggdev has to frisk the serpent away. Creepy as it is, it took nearly two hours for the shot to be enacted as the actors were petrified. Recalling his horror, Sharad says, “At the beginning, it all seemed easy but when I saw the snake, I was scared to death. This cobra was about eight feet long and the thought of placing a large snake on my chest sent shivers down my spine. Besides, it was hissing loudly and thus it made our task all the more difficult. It took us about two hours to finally shoot the scene.” An equally petrified Kamya says, “When told about it I had refused to do it .However, the director was keen on using real snake and we were left with no option. I was briefed on how to handle the snake but often it would coil in my hand. Worse, I feared that my long nails could hurt it and cause further trouble for me. The most difficult part of the act was that I had to do it without showing any sign of fear on my face.” Kamya adds, “Every time when I felt that we were through with the shot, the director said that the shot was not perfect. I washed my hands several times after it was finally done. I now fear getting nightmares of it. Let’s hope that next time I’m not asked to stand in front of a lion.” A good one for Fear Factor we say.