Suchitra Krishnamoorthi burst onto the Bollywood scene in the 1990s. Her sweet, innocent charm quickly captured hearts. While many remember her best as Anna from the classic film ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’ alongside Shah Rukh Khan, her acting career was surprisingly short. Recently, Suchitra sat down with Amar Ujala to share some truly surprising stories from her past.
Even now, people still call her Anna from that beloved movie. But here’s a secret: Suchitra never actually wanted to be an actress. So, what was the real reason she stepped away from films for such a long time? In her chat with Amar Ujala Digital, she spilled the beans on all these questions and recounted many tales from her early days.
Suchitra Didn’t See Herself as a Full-Time Actress
Suchitra explained that even though fans know her as an actress, she never thought of herself as one all the time. Her passion for music runs deep. She shared, “I was a singer in school, and I also did theatre. I loved reading poems and many books. My father would tell me that people who read a lot can also become writers.” She worked on many different things, not just singing. After her daughter was born, she even started painting and vlogging. She once created 70-80 paintings in just two weeks! About acting, she said, “I’ve done only a handful of films in my career, but people still remember me for them. Even so, I never saw myself as a full-time actress.” She mentioned singing jingles before ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’ and even two songs in films, but her pop songs were always more popular.
Fighting Family to Join Films
How did Suchitra, whose father worked in management and mother was a historian, end up in films? She revealed, “I had to fight a lot with my family and even leave home to get into acting.” Her parents really wanted her to study and choose a stable career. She would always tell them, “I won’t do another project after this one.” Yet, projects kept finding her. She signed a Tamil film that never got made. Then she did a Malayalam film. She also appeared in two Doordarshan serials, ‘Kashmakash’ and ‘Chunauti’. Later, she moved to Hindi films. Then, one day, she suddenly left it all behind. “My mother was very strict,” she remembered, “so I promised myself I wouldn’t be like that when I became a mother.” She took a break from her career and focused on other things. She truly believes that destiny plays a part. “I chose to distance myself from films,” she stated, “and I don’t regret that decision.”
The Day Shah Rukh Khan Got Slapped on Set
Let’s talk about a famous story from the set of ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’. The film, directed by Kundan Shah, starred Shah Rukh Khan, Deepak Tijori, and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi in the main roles. Director Kundan Shah was known for taking many retakes; he was quite stubborn. Suchitra recalled, “I used to argue a lot with Kundan on set because he kept asking for retakes.” Deepak and Shah Rukh were used to it, giving 15 to 20 retakes. Because of this, Suchitra said, “I slapped Shah Rukh Khan many times, all because Director Kundan wanted the perfect shot.” She later cried a lot about it. “In real life, we don’t just slap people without reason, right?” she laughed. She even admitted to sometimes falling asleep on set! They filmed the movie in Goa for three months, having a blast and making many memories.