Sridevi with director Umesh Mehra: The Kiss Controversy: Sridevi's biggest Bollywood Scandal

Sridevi with director Umesh Mehra on the sets of the film Guru, one of the few directors Sridevi had a MASSIVE falling out with. 

The film was a box-office hit, in fact had one of the biggest openings back in 1989 -  but Sridevi said in an interview it was "the worst film- making experience" of her entire career.

The Back Story

Sridevi was asked to do a kissing scene for her film Guru with co-star Mithun Chakraborthy. She made it clear to the director that she wouldn't. While she thought the matter was resolved upon discussion, unbeknownst to her, a stand-in’s lips were used for that particular shot in the film - much to her chagrin. When the movie came out, she was shocked and her conservative family was deeply upset.

In an interview describing "her worst experience in Bollywood", she said, “Kissing scenes are not for me. For Joshilaay, [director] Shekhar Kapur did ask me if I would mind kissing Sunny [Deol]. When I told him I would feel extremely embarrassed, he said 'Okay, don’t worry, we won’t do it.'

But the kissing problem of Guru was a nightmare. Someone else’s lips were used for a kiss even though I had said I wouldn’t allow this to be done by a stand-in. My parents saw the film and were very upset. And the director [Umesh Mehra] even claimed that I had actually done the kissing scene. That has been my worst experience in the film industry. I really don’t know why I should kiss someone I don’t know. Others can do it but I can’t,” she said.

Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, the film Guru was released at the peak of Mithun Chakrborthy and Sridevi's career and was the biggest opener of 1989 and a blockbuster. And yeah, once again Sridevi had a double role and her songs topped the chart. And yet, Sri looked back at the whole experience with a headache.

Archive of images of Sridevi in the film Guru here.

A Kiss from Sridevi? Rare! The only time she's kissed on camera - on the cheek - is here.

The kisses Sridevi did on screen was rarely a romantic interlude - but for comic flare. 

From Stardust, Feb 1989, Smooching 'N' Suing! How Sridevi took a kiss to Court!