Dhurandhar: Saumya Tandon was terrified of slapping Akshaye Khanna

Saumya Tandon has become the talk of the town among audiences after her thrilling performance in Dhurandhar. The actress played the wife of Rehman Dakait, essayed by Akshaye Khanna. In an exclusive chat with mid-day, she opens up about her experience, the polarised opinions surrounding the film, and why she is not a part of the Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain film.

Saumya on her first meeting with Aditya Dhar

The actress recalls how she was initially told her role was small, but Aditya Dhar’s conviction prompted her to take it on. “The script, honestly, wasn’t narrated to me completely because it was meant to be under wraps. I had no idea that they were going to make it in two parts. All those details were not communicated to me. I just knew the story and my part. Initially, my reaction was that this was a small role, but I was very excited to work with Aditya because he’s one of my favourite directors. Aditya told me that I hadn’t done anything like this before.”

Saumya Tandon on starring opposite Akshaye Khanna

Calling Khanna one of her favourite actors and recalling his nuanced performances from the 90s, the actress shares how she was petrified about slapping him in an intense scene. She also reveals that she didn’t interact much with Akshaye ahead of the shoot. “I didn’t even have time to interact with Akshaye, but I genuinely think we had great chemistry. Somehow, just through our eyes, there was so much camaraderie between the two of us. I didn’t have to work hard to build that connection because he’s such a seasoned actor. He is completely present in the moment.”

Both the female leads legit slap men and they don`t even react. This woman wouldn`t have even watched Dhurandhar but as usual making lame points to play woman card which has no relation with the movie https://t.co/ZRtRQYbBm2 pic.twitter.com/kUTrXAyt4f — feryy (@ffspari) December 8, 2025

She adds, “Initially, I was trying to cheat during slap scene. Then Aditya came to me and said, ‘Don’t fake it, just go for it.’ I looked at Akshaye and asked, ‘Should I go for it?’ and he very nonchalantly said, ‘Go for it.’ So I did. I felt terrible slapping him, but I just went ahead and did it.”

On polarised opinions

A few days ago, the Jab We Met actress slammed netizens who called Dhurandhar misogynistic. Reflecting on why the remark irked her, she said, “People don’t understand the difference between a male-dominated film and misogyny. They are two very different things. Misogyny is when women are put down, and that is not what this movie does. Yes, men have a lot to do in the film, but women are treated with dignity. Imagine a man in Lyari whom everybody is scared of, and his wife slaps him in front of everyone at the hospital. He still doesn’t say anything.”

Saumya on Ranveer

While Saumya had more screen time with Akshaye Khanna, she also got to interact with Ranveer Singh, who was completely involved in the process of getting the act right. “I genuinely feel this is his best performance ever. He was also very involved and exhausted with the kind of work that he had to do. So he was not as jumpy or as energetic as you would see him otherwise.”

Saumya on career lows

Reflecting on her career lows, the actress shares how two of her OTT shows were shelved. “I was supposed to do two OTT shows. One of them got delayed, and the other one, they changed the entire cast a week before. I felt a little silly about it because I thought that if somebody has already chosen, fixed and locked everything, given me money, done the trials and rehearsals, how can they change everything at the last moment? And I realised, you know, people are confused when you are not sure of your own self.”

On not being a part of Bhabiji the film

She wishes the Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain team all the luck and says, “I love the whole team. I have had some beautiful years with them. I`m so close to the producers and hope it`s another success.”