'I was shooting for DDLJ when my husband passed away.'
Himani Shivpuri, known for delivering memorable performances across Hindi cinema and television, recently looked back on her time working in Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.
Shivpuri, who essayed the role of Kajol's on-screen aunt Kammo Bua, revealed why she was not a part of the film's climax.
"I was shooting for DDLJ when my husband passed away," she reveals.
"There was a climax scene, I believe. I don't remember anything about the climax scene. I just knew that my husband had died, and I was all alone in this new city. We didn't know anyone. They (the DDLJ team) got to know about it. Faridaji (Jalal) came to see me, and she must have told Mr Chopra (Yash Chopra).
"I didn't even remember that I had to go there after two days for the Panvel shooting of the climax. I got a call from Yash Raj Productions, and Yashji said, 'I understand that this has happened, and we know that you cannot come'."
Shivpuri revealed how she had to turn down the climax shooting due to the final rites of her husband, when her son was still studying in Dehradun.
"They had a shooting in two days, and everybody's dates were there. So they had to shoot it. I am the only one who is not there in the climax. Everyone is there. Each and every character is there. Except me, everyone is there," the actress added.
Despite a significant setback in her personal life, Shivpuri recalled returning to work shortly after, driven by the responsibility of her household and raising her son.
"God was kind. With God and my parents' blessings, I was fortunate to do films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, which became a big hit. Then DDLJ also became another hit, and I was already shooting for Pardes. Work kept on coming. I never had to go and ask anyone for work or anything.
"At one point, people considered me lucky. Davidji (David Dhawan) used to say, 'Films don't work if you are not in them'," she fondly remembered.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
