Hema Malini Birthday: Baghban co-star Samir Soni was scared of touching the actress! Shares a hilarious memory – Times of India

It’s been 17 years since Hema Malini starrer Baghban hit the big screens. Just as the actress turns a year older today, her co-star from the film, also featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Samir Soni maintains that age is actually just a number for the legendary actress.

Remembering the days from the sets, Samir shares, “The very first scene that I had to perform with her was when all her children come home for the holi party. That sounded like an easy scene, but the problem here was that your on-screen parents happen to be Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini! I could take Mr Bachchan as my father figure, but Hema ji looked anything but like a ‘mother’. She was gorgeous. During the rehearsals, I could not put my hand around her waist or shoulder, which I normally would have. I was scared, as I had heard stories of Dharamji (Dharmendra), I thought maybe he will come and beat me up or something. So, after the first rehearsal I asked Hemaji if it was okay if I put my arm around her. And she was like, ‘of course’! I had a sigh of relief.”

Samir says he was enamored by the Dream Girl’s aura! “When she arrived on the sets, it literally looked like someone was holding a light behind her. She used to be so composed. During breaks she would be in a corner working on her lines. We have had lovely conversations with each other too,” he recollects.