Mahima Chaudhry recalls traumatic accident during Dil Kya Kare shoot

Mahima Chaudhry recently opened up about a traumatic accident early in her career, during the shoot of Dil Kya Kare, sharing how it deeply affected both her personal and professional life. Recalling the incident, she said she was unaware of the extent of her facial injuries until she saw herself in a mirror. Despite her injuries, she initially insisted on continuing the shoot, but director Prakash Jha encouraged her to rest.
“When my accident happened, I didn’t realise that I have these many cuts on my face. I found later when I went to the bathroom and saw the mirror. Before that, I was telling Prakash ji (Prakash Jha, director) that if nothing has happened, let’s shoot,” she told Radio Nasha. “Because doctors were done with the scans etc. He said, ‘No no, let’s wait, we’ll just go out and talk about dates.’ When I saw my face, I realised that my face is injured.” As many as 67 glass pieces were pulled out from her face.
Mahima asked Ajay Devgn and Prakash Jha not to reveal the incident, hoping to protect her career. She praised the production team for respecting her wishes, as the story only came to light 20 years later.
“When Ajay and Prakash ji came back, my first thing was ‘please don’t tell anyone that I have gone through this. Let me at least try and see what I can salvage my career with.’ It is just immense that no one from the production never told anyone. 20 years later, I told the story and that’s when people got to know. It is commendable. I used to go on set and everyone could see it,” she recalled.
However, a film magazine secretly clicked her photo and labelled her “scarface,” a moment she remembered with hurt. The actor also shared how she walked away from a film with Satish Kaushik and Anil Kapoor, hiding her injuries by pretending to have a broken foot. She recalled the immense stress she felt during that time, especially as one of her eyes still appeared smaller after surgeries. “That was tough because I was very young when I went through that,” she added.
“Ajay used to say that after surgeries, it would all be fine but I didn’t believe it. I was thinking of other career options. Even today, my one eye is smaller than the other. Back then, it was very stressful. I never faced the camera straight. I would always angle my face a bit,” she said.
Though it was a challenging period, Mahima expressed her resilience in finding ways to navigate her career. Mahima Chaudhry will next be seen in Signature, which will stream on Zee5 from October 4.