Veteran actor Annu Kapoor once addressed the controversy surrounding an intimate scene with ‘Varanasi’ actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Vishal Bhardwaj’s 2011 film, ‘7 Khoon Maaf. In an old interview with journalist Shubhankar Mishra, the actor clarified that his earlier remarks had been “blown out of proportion” and suggested that the controversy may have been the result of “someone doing it for PR.”Recalling the situation from the sets of ‘7 Khoon Maaf,’ Annu explained that the alleged “kissing scene” controversy had been misinterpreted and sensationalized.“When I was working on ‘Aitraaz,’ I used to address Priyanka as ‘beti’ (daughter). I would often meet her father, Ashok Chopra,” Annu said. “Later, when Vishal Bhardwaj asked her to do an intimate scene with me for ‘7 Khoon Maaf,’ it was obvious she would feel uncomfortable. When I sensed that, I requested Vishal to cut the scene.”Annu Kapoor shared that Visha Bharadwaj wanted the scene and was not ready to chop it.Annu further recalled that Vishal Bhardwaj had initially resisted changing the sequence, as it was important to the story.“Vishal said, ‘I have written the scene for a reason; I can’t remove it randomly.’ Eventually, her team conveyed that she wasn’t comfortable with it. I didn’t make a fuss, but somehow, the matter spread like wildfire online,” Annu recalled.The veteran actor also spoke about his equation with Priyanka’s father and why he personally found the situation uncomfortable.“I treated her like my daughter. It’s not necessary that I fulfill any lustful desires on set,” he said.Annu maintained that Priyanka had every right to refuse the scene and said he did not hold her decision against her.“It was her choice, and she did the right thing. I am too small a person for a star like Priyanka Chopra to even think about. I never held it against her,” he said, smiling. “It would have been different if it were some better-looking hero, perhaps,” he added in jest.Kapoor feels the controversy was blown up with no reason.Looking back at the controversy, Annu said the incident had received far more attention than it deserved.“The entire episode was blown out of proportion. Someone must have done it for publicity. Once you become a star, the decisions and dynamics around you change—that’s just how the industry works,” he said.Annu Kapoor’s association with Priyanka Chopra Jonas ‘Aitraaz’ to ‘7 Khoon Maaf’Annu Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra first shared the screen in the 2004 romantic thriller Aitraaz, where both actors received acclaim for their performances. They reunited years later in Vishal Bhardwaj’s dark comedy 7 Khoon Maaf, in which Priyanka portrayed Susanna, a woman who goes on to murder her seven husbands.At the time, Annu’s comments about Priyanka refusing an intimate scene generated considerable media attention. Priyanka, in an interview with Hindustan Times, had dismissed the controversy as ‘irritating and unnecessary’.
