Lara Dutta, who made her debut with Andaaz opposite Akshay Kumar, had a terrifying experience of almost drowning during the shoot of a dance sequence in the sea. Lara, who didn’t know how to swim at the time, was swept away by ferocious waves alongside Akshay into the sea.
‘Sank Like a Rock’
Recalling the frightening experience during a chat with Asian Television Network Canada, Lara Dutta said, “I went underwater, wearing leather, didn’t know how to swim, sank like a rock.”
Akshay Kumar himself grabbed hold of her and brought her back to the beach.
Lara then went into hypothermic shock; the shoot was immediately stalled, and she was rushed to the hospital.
Lara Learnt Swimming at 30, Cast for Blue
Akshay Kumar later recommended her name to the producers of Blue, an underwater adventure film that would require extensive ocean sequences.
Lara didn’t want to be a part of the film and told Akshay that she couldn’t take it up.
Akshay had one suggestion: “Learn swimming.”
“At 30, he asked me to learn diving. I said, ‘Mai hi pagal mili hoon’ (Do you think I am crazy?),” Lara recalled her instant reaction to Kumar’s suggestion.
But she did it. Lara learnt to swim at 30, overcame the phobia that Andaaz had left on her mind, and came onboard.
Directed by Anthony D’Souza and released in 2009, Blue stars Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan. The film might not have been a box office success, but it boosted Lara’s confidence to overcome her water phobia.
Lara Dutta was last seen in Ishq-e-Nadaan (2023).
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