When Meenakshi Seshadri Refused Rajkumar Santoshi’s Marriage Proposal

Mumbai: Meenakshi Seshadri essayed several iconic roles, one of them being Rajkumar Santoshi’s 1993 film ‘Damini’.

Meenakshi is still remembered for being the woman who strove to get justice for her housemaid who was raped by her brother-in-law and his friends.

But there is an interesting story behind Damini, which was recently revealed by Meenakshi.

The actress spoke of the unpleasant experience from three decades ago, when she was forced to refuse romantic advances and marriage proposal of Santoshi, the director and co-writer of the film’s script.

Consequently, Meenakshi was dumped from ‘Damini’.

However, the actress kept silent about the episode and was ultimately asked to rejoin the film, thanks to support from the Producers Guild.

“Santoshi ji and I decided not to talk about it. It is water under the bridge. But the courage to stand up was important because nobody should be told they aren’t required anymore. It had several implications for rules in the workforce and beyond. I dealt with it by keeping quiet. I just said that I will choose not to comment on this as it is below my dignity to turn this into a fight. This is not a fight,” Meenakshi told Zoom TV.

“I stood up for what I believe in, and if things were going to work out, we would work together as a team. That was the message I wanted to give to the film fraternity and the audiences. I was there to make a great film, and Damini was definitely going to be that,” Meenakshi recalled.

“I respect all the people involved with the film, especially Santoshi ji because his vision was tremendous. Ultimately, they say action speaks louder than words, so the Producers Guild, the Artists Guild, all came together to make it happen,” Meenakshi said.

Meenakshi married Harish Mysore in 1995, and the couple has a daughter and a son.

Santoshi went on to marry Manila, the couple is parents to a son and daughter.

Meenakshi and Santoshi’s first film together was ‘Ghayal’ in 1990, followed by ‘Damini’ and ‘Ghatak’ in 1996.