Pallavi Joshi says a director slapped her when she was four years old as she couldn't cry in a scene: 'Nobody has slapped me before, my father was shocked'

Time of India

3 hours ago

Pallavi Joshi
, now a celebrated National Award-winning actor, began her journey as a child artiste — and her debut was anything but ordinary. In a recent conversation with Friday Talkies, she shared a surprising and emotional memory from her very first film experience, which left a lasting mark on her as a four-year-old.
Her first appearance on the big screen came in 1973's Naag Mere Saathi, directed by Shantilal Joshi — a friend of her father. The film starred Sachin and Sarika in the lead roles, with little Pallavi playing the younger version of Sarika's character.
Pallavi revealed how the challenge of a particular scene, meant to be emotionally intense, quickly spiraled into something quite unexpected. She recalled being instructed to cry during a song sequence, but her innocent reaction threw the entire crew off.
'They narrated the scene to me. They said, 'You have to do a puja of Nag Devta and then hold your face and cry.' The four-year-old me found this very funny,' she said, laughing at the memory. 'They took several takes, but I kept laughing.'
As the crew struggled to get the desired shot, director Shantilal Joshi requested her father to intervene and help evoke the right emotion. 'Shantilal then asked my father to slap me. My dad refused but pretended to be angry at me from behind the camera.
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I sensed he was just acting—and laughed even harder,' Pallavi shared.
The situation escalated when Shantilal, frustrated with the repeated failed takes, took matters into his own hands. 'After several failed takes, Shantilal lost his cool, walked up to me and slapped me,' she said.
Caught off guard, the young Pallavi was stunned. 'The camera was rolling. I was in shock. I was only four. No one had ever slapped me before.
My ego was hurt. 'Pure unit ke saamne mujhe kaise maar diya?' (How could he slap me in front of the whole unit?) I cried uncontrollably.'
The experience was so upsetting that she stormed off the set and declared she wouldn't continue with the shoot. 'After the shot, I stood up and screamed, 'I don't want to shoot for this film!' My father was shocked and asked, 'How could you slap my daughter?' Shantilal called for a pack-up.
I was adamant, I would not shoot again.'
While her father grew anxious in the days that followed, fearing the worst, Shantilal was simply waiting for young Pallavi to cool off. Eventually, she returned to the set, and filming resumed.
That early brush with acting — and raw emotion — was just the beginning. Pallavi would go on to appear in films such as Aadmi Sadak Ka, Badla, and earned recognition for her powerful portrayal of a blind child in Dada. In the 1990s, she took on roles in both parallel and mainstream cinema, including Rukmavati Ki Haveli, Trishagni, Rihaee, as well as popular films like Saudagar, Panaah, Mujrim, and Tehelka.