Exclusive: ‘Salman Khan was a prankster on sets and I was miss serious,’ Bhagyashree

Actress Bhagyashree who was seen on Bigg Boss 15 last weekend where she reunited with Maine Pyar Kiya costar Salman Khan after three decades speaks to midday com about son Abhimanyu Dassanirsquos latest release Meenakshi Sundareshwar giving up films for marriage and moreIt was lovely watching Salman Khan and you reunite on Bigg Boss after three decades of Maine Pyaar KiyahellipLike everyone else even our memories of Maine Pyar Kiya were revived on Bigg Boss They had to edit a lot of moments because itrsquos an hour long episode We were on stage together after 30 years and both of us were recalling lsquous waqt kya hua tharsquo Salman was a prankster on set and I was Miss serious so I would get very irritated It was exactly what you saw on Bigg Boss I would go hit him It was a very school girl reaction at that point of time I watched the episode and went lsquoSh I used the same reaction that I used to have on setrsquoYou gave up films for marriage despite your debut being a super hit today considering there are so many opportunities for married actresses do you think things would have been differentI wish we had such opportunities at that time but back then the society wouldnrsquot accept such things and there were other reasons as well Itrsquos like trying to rewind something where changes have happened now The world progresses thought processes change society changes Even If I had decided to continue working maybe the acceptability wouldnrsquot have been there at that time Irsquom not even looking back I led a different kind of life Irsquom really looking forward to working now There are no regrets because ifs and buts are a continuous process of life I have my lovely children who are taking off on their careers which is great fun to see them bloom and grow I can be the wind beneath their wings and probably help them do everything I wanted to do that that time Itrsquos like lsquoJao jee lo apni zindagirsquo which they are telling me to do right nowWhat was your reaction to Abhimanyursquos latest release Meenakshi SundareshwarAs every mother would lsquoapne bachche ko dekhte hairsquo so I had to see the film twice to watch it as a whole First I had to watch my son There have been so many shows and films on OTT during the pandemic but most of them have been dark When you look at Meenakshi Sundareshwar itrsquos a sweet family film that everyone can sit together and watch A popcorn love story that young couples can watch I told Abhimanyu that such a sweet film has come out after a long time and people will appreciate it as a whole When I told him he has done a wonderful job he said ldquoMom you watched the film with a motherrsquos eyes Irsquom not even going to listen to your reaction because you wonrsquot say anything negativerdquo In all honestly that isnrsquot the case At one point Himalayaji had a factory in Chennai and he stayed there most of the time so I understand what a long distance relationship takes Now you have mobiles and video calls but we didnrsquot have these things back then We had to book a call and when you get those two minutes to speak you cant do it properly So the whole idea of being in a long distance relationship or marriage and trying to make it work is very relatable to a lot of young peopleHow did you react when he told you he wants to actHe still holds it against me When he first told me he wanted to act I told him the finance world is waiting for you why donrsquot you study at Boston university when you are getting admission Hersquos a wiz at Maths His cousins studied at Boston university and are doing extremely well with seven figure salaries He replied ldquoMom do you hear what Irsquom sayingrdquo So my first reaction was to protect him from what the film world involves The film world is not a factory when you give inputs and your product is ready No matter how hard you work here itrsquos all about teamwork the film releasing at the right time the audience being receptive luck so there are too many things involved in finally getting success You can spend a lifetime working and still not have success We have brilliant actors who havenrsquot managed to reach stardom or be noticed in the earlier years of their life At 4050 they are getting noticed thanks to OTT As a mother my advice was think about it because you donrsquot know how things will turn out Thatrsquos not what children like to hearDoes he ask for your advice on scriptsNot at all They have their own life When he decides on a script he gives it to me and says read it you will find it interesting Reading scripts is not a very happy moment itrsquos a time consuming process So I tell him give me the script only if you are doing the film If you are not doing it mujhe nahi pandi laughs Itrsquos too much of an effort for meAlso read Bhagyashree I had initially refused Maine Pyar Kiya despite liking the script