Raveena Tandon on why she refused Prem Qaidi: ‘There was a zip-opening scene’

Easily one of the most iconic heroines of Bollywood in the 1990s, Raveena Tandon is still considered a diva and a powerhouse performer on screen. In fact, just recently, she was honoured with the ‘Style Hall of Fame - Female’ title at the prestigious Hindustan Times India’s Most Stylish Awards 2023. Known for her acting in films like Patthar Ke Phool, Dilwale, Mohra, Ziddi, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Daman and Aks, Raveena recently opened up about why she turned down a few movie offers during her prime.  

In an exclusive interview with ETimes, when the Padma Shri awardee - who most recently appeared in the Yash-starrer K.G.F: Chapter 2 and Netflix crime thriller web series Aranyak - was asked about what made her refuse certain films in the 90s, she said, “No, I didn’t walk out from any. But very politely, I didn’t do films that I was not comfortable with. For example, Prem Qaidi was offered to me with [Daggubati] Venkatesh, but I didn’t do it, because there was a scene where there’s a zip opening and I was very, very young. For me, it was how can I do that in front of the camera? I will not be able to do this.”

Also read: When Raveena Tandon spoke about Shilpa Shetty’s sense of style: ‘She has always been classy!’

Written and directed by K Murali Mohana Rao, the 1991 musical film Prem Qaidi eventually went to Karisma Kapoor (marking her debut) and Harish Kumar. It was a remake of the Telugu film Prema Khaidi (1990). The movie also featured Paresh Rawal, Dalip Tahil, Asrani, Shafi Inamdar and Bharat Bhushan. 

Also read: Padma Shri awardee Raveena Tandon: You will see me in a lot of films and OTT shows in the coming days

Raveena seems to have her hands full with multiple upcoming projects. She is doing a romantic-comedy film, titled Ghudchadi, in which she will be seen alongside Sanjay Dutt, Parth Samthan and Khushali Kumar. Meanwhile, there is also Patna Shukla, directed by Vivek Budakoti, and a Disney+ Hotstar project.