Bhagyashree: I had initially refused Maine Pyar Kiya despite liking the script

Bhagyashree. File pic/Yogen Shah

Bhagyashree's Suman from the 1989 film Maine Pyar Kiya became a much-loved character and the film itself was a huge success. It was a massive film not only for Bhagyashree, who made her debut with it, but also for Salman Khan and director Sooraj Barjatya.

But did you know that Bhagyashree had, in fact, refused the film when it was offered to her? In an interview with ETimes, the actress shared, "If today's generation reads this, they will think I was out of my mind because who refuses a film like Maine Pyar Kiya! But I didn't want to do it. Instead, I wanted to go abroad for higher studies and had also secured admission. However, my father wanted me to complete my education in India itself and we were arguing over it when Maine Pyar Kiya came my way."

She added, "I actually told Soorajji (Sooraj Barjatya) that I didn't want to work in films, a fact he couldn't understand. The subject was beautiful and I liked what he narrated to me. But, at the end of it, when he wanted to know if I would do the film, I told him that despite liking the script, I wouldn't be able to take it up. He returned to me seven times, with changes in the script to please me, and each time I would come up with a new excuse. But on the eighth time, I couldn't make one up and gave my nod to the film."

Bhagyashree admitted that it was during the filming of Maine Pyar Kiya that she fell in love with the profession, a profession that she had never considered a career option ever! "In fact, in all of my school plays I had played a tree because I was petrified of facing the audience," she quips.

When asked about her experience working with Salman Khan, Bhagyashree said, "It was a debut venture for all three of us - Salman, Soorajji, and me. Though Salman had done a film, this was his first as a hero. So, it was like going to college and we became buddies, which was beautiful. We were all so raw; there was no pretense."

Now, it's the actress's son, Abhimanyu, who's trying to make his way in the world of films. Abhimanyu Dassani made his Bollywood debut with Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. The actor will now star in Sabbir Khan's Nikamma that also marks the return of Shilpa Shetty Kundra on the big screen. Bhagyashree, too, will be seen on the big screen in Radhe Shyam, touted to be an epic love story set in Europe. The movie stars Prabhas and Pooja Hegde in the lead.