"I pulled out that guy from the crowd."
Lara Dutta recalled a traumatic incident where she was sexually assaulted.
The occasion was at the music launch of her first film Andaaz (2003), wherein she co-starred with Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
Lara remembered that a man in the crowd grabbed her waist and how Akshay pulled her away to stop her from hitting him.
Lara Dutta said: “During my first film, Andaaz, Priyanka, Akshay and me, all three of us went to Delhi.
“I think it was somewhere in Chandni Chowk.
“There used to be a place called Rhythm House which was the venue for our music release.
“It was my first film, it was my first time as an actress, and I was wearing a saree that day.
“Someone in the crowd sneaked in their hand and pinched me on my waist.
“I almost had some intuition, maybe this was military training, that you can sense that something is wrong.
“The moment that hand came in, I held that hand and I pulled out that guy from the crowd.
“I was in a saree and I thrashed him like anything.
“Akshay got worried and he had to physically pull me back.
“He said, ‘What are you doing? You are an actress, you can’t do this’.”
Lara Dutta is known for promoting independence and feminism.
In another interview, the actress revealed how she turned down a major role in The Matrix, owing to her mother’s illness.
She explained: “I had not even started out in Bollywood. But I was very clear about what I wanted in life.
“I just had to be with my mother at the time.
“I did not even think twice and came back to India.
“And, it wasn’t like I came here thinking we have Bollywood as a backup since I gave up on a huge Hollywood opportunity.
“I just had to be with my mother at the time since she was unwell, extremely unwell.”
Over the course of her career, Lara has been a part of blockbusters including Fanaa (2006), Partner (2007) and Housefull (2010).
She was last seen in Ishq-e-Nadaan. It was released on JioCinema on July 14, 2023.
The star will next be seen in Welcome to the Jungle and Suryast.
Lara Dutta has also commenced filming for Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayan, in which she will be seen as Queen Kaikeyi.
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