“I Wasn’t In Good Books Of Heroes”- Moushumi Chatterjee

Moushmi Chatterjee recalls why she was replaced from films like "Desh Premi" and "Barsaat Ki Ek Raat".

Moushumi Chatterjee is known for films like “Roti Kapda Aur Makaan”, “Angoor”, “Humshakal” etc. She always gained praise for her looks and relatable acting skills. However, Moushumi never prioritized her career. She is a family-oriented person and always kept her family responsibilities above her career. This is one of the reasons why she lost out on many film offers. Moushumi is also known as a no-nonsense person. She willingly walked out of many films where she found herself in compromising situations.

The veteran actress recently opened up about all of it in an interview with senior journalist Bharathi S Pradhan. She began by saying how she dislikes the hugging and kissing culture in Bollywood and how she was looked down upon when she refused to follow it. She said, “I didn’t even know how to say ‘Hey’. I came from a conservative family where you say ‘Namastey’ to elders and say ‘Halo’ to people of the same age. But in Bombay, they said, ‘Heyy!’ and even came forward to hug. I used to get stiff. Once my husband’s female friend once even taunted me saying that I am very conscious and my mind is not clean. I was like, why should I hug and kiss unnecessarily? It is not even our culture. And I am embarrassed by this because I have not been brought up in that way. You can be nice with a smile and holding hands.”

She further elaborated, “You need to have body sanctity. After pack-up, I don’t want an actor to keep his hand on my shoulder. Once my husband’s friend tried to put his hand on my waist. I was like ‘Don’t!’ He said, ‘But your husband has put his hand around my wife’s waist’. I said, ‘It’s because your wife has allowed it, but I haven’t’.”

Moushumi revealed that she was bluntly told how she wasn’t in the good books of many heroes and therefore, she was replaced many times. She said, “Not only ‘Desh Premi’. ‘Barsaat Ki Ek Raat’ as well. I signed it but then I was out of the picture. Because I never compromise. I had to be ‘yes woman’ on everything. And I can’t do it. Even a lot of elder heroines adviced me that you have good looks and talent but you are not in the good books of the heroes. They told me that I shouldn’t be like that. And I used to pretend at that time that I wasn’t aware of anything.”

She also addressed her tiff with Rajesh Khanna. She was asked about the incident when Rajesh Khanna teased her about having an extra-marital affair by asking if she is pregnant with Vinod Mehra’s child. Moushumi said, “Rajesh Khanna played dirty many times. Today he is no more. I went to see him also in his last stage. He was praising me in front of my younger daughter. He said to her, “Your maa must be mad but we were all scared of her. She doesn’t believe in any nonsense.”

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