Zareen Khan Recalls Backlash After Hate Story 3, Says Aksar 2 Required ‘A Kiss Or Me In A Bra’ In Almost Every Scene, Reveals People Looked Down Upon Her

Actress Zareen Khan has spoken about the backlash she received in the film industry after appearing in Hate Story 3. In a recent interview, she said the film led to harsh judgement from some people in Bollywood, with many questioning her acting abilities. Zareen made her debut opposite Salman Khan in the 2010 film Veer and later appeared in successful films such as Housefull 2 and Hate Story 3.

However, she said the bold scenes in Hate Story 3 triggered negative comments from members of the industry. Speaking on a podcast hosted by Pooja Bhatt, Zareen recalled feeling judged after the film’s release.

“After I did Hate Story, a lot of people—especially from the industry—looked down on me. They would say, ‘Because she cannot act, she decided to strip,’” she said.

Following the commercial success of Hate Story 3, Zareen was approached for Aksar 2, a sequel to the 2006 film Aksar, directed by Anant Mahadevan. According to the actor, the project was initially pitched to her as a noir thriller and not as a film similar to Hate Story 3. But once shooting began, she noticed that several scenes involved kissing or required her to wear revealing outfits.

“He narrated the script in very polished English and said, ‘We are not making a Hate Story. We are making a genre noir,’ or something along those lines. I thought, okay,” she said. “But once I reached the set, every other scene ended with a kiss or suddenly required me to be in a bra or something similar.”

Zareen clarified that she had no issue performing bold scenes but felt that the film was not what had originally been presented to her.

“I told him, ‘I don’t have a problem doing such scenes, but you gave me a completely different brief. Now, just because you saw that film work, you want to add these things.’ Later I realised the director was spineless. He would tell one version of the story to the producers and another to me and my costume designer Shahid Aamir,” she said.

She added that tensions increased during the shoot. “There was so much animosity. The producers suddenly wanted me to do a bra scene, kiss, or something provocative in almost every sequence just because I had done one such film earlier. That’s not fair.”

Despite the issues, Zareen said she chose to complete the film to avoid causing financial losses to the producers.

“I am not someone who throws tantrums. I know people’s money is at stake, so I always try to talk things out and find a middle ground. But by the time the film was finished, things had become so bad that I wasn’t even invited to the screening of my own film,” she said.

She also claimed that media reports at the time portrayed her as difficult to work with. “There were articles saying I was difficult to work with. I still have messages from the director where he complains about the producers to me—but what’s done is done,” she added.

Director Anant Mahadevan had previously responded to the controversy in an interview with DNA India, denying the allegations and defending his approach to filmmaking.

“Nobody is more prepared than me in the industry. People approach me for low-budget films with clarity and planning. I found it amusing to read allegations about confusion or extra shots. I rehearse my films like a play, and every shot was explained during rehearsals,” he said.

Addressing criticism about the film’s intimate scenes, he added, “Zareen may not have been used to that kind of filming. As for the smooches, I have always said that a few kisses do not make a film erotic. These days almost every film has them—even a Karan Johar movie. There was nothing vulgar in my film. In fact, we shot longer kisses but edited them to avoid getting an ‘A’ certificate because we wanted women to watch the film.”

Mahadevan also said the film largely revolved around Zareen’s character. “She was part of the entire shoot and dubbing sessions and seemed quite happy with the result. If there had been any issue, it would have come up then. She had even said in interviews that she was excited about doing a female-oriented film. I don’t know if someone has instigated her, but what she is saying now doesn’t hold water,” he added.

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