Shekhar Suman looked back fondly on his Bollywood debut Girish KarnadThe 1984 romantic drama Utsav, in which he starred opposite Rekha. Produced by Shashi Kapoorthe film featured Rekha as the courtesan Vasantasena and Shekhar as Charudatta, a poor man she falls in love with in Ujjain. Being a newcomer, it was a big task for Shekhar to have intimate scenes with Rekha in his first film and she was an established star. But Shekhar reveals how he made him feel so comfortable. Recalling her experience, Shekhar said that Rekha never had the air of a superstar even though she was already one of the biggest names in the industry. “She did, right from the start. When there’s an actor walking around with paraphernalia and being like, ‘Look at me, I’m a big star,’ that becomes a problem. They have so many people looking after them and they expect you to just sit in the corner and watch all the stardom. But she was far from all that. He would sit next to me and make me comfortable. So, even before I gave my shot, I was very, very comfortable,” Shekhar recalled in an interview with Screen. He also credited filmmaker Girish Karnad for helping him overcome the pressure of sharing screen space with Rekha. “He told me, ‘Look, you’re just playing a character. Don’t treat her as Rekha, treat her as Vasantasena, another character,'” Shekhar said. Talking about the shooting of the intimate scenes, he praised Rekha’s professionalism, adding, “Being a big star, she never said, ‘Don’t touch me here’ or ‘I don’t want to do it again.’ It was very, very normal.”Shekhar also remembered his work Madhuri Dixit in Manav Hatya (1986), directed by Sudarshan Rattan. By then, Madhuri had made her debut with Abodh but was yet to achieve national fame, which came later with Tezaab and its iconic song ‘Ek Do Teen’.Recalling how he joined the project, Shekhar said, “I remember working with Madhuri in my second film. The director called me and asked, ‘Would I work with a new girl?’ I said, ‘If Rekha could work with me, why wouldn’t I work with a new girl?'”He also recalled meeting Madhuri before the shoot began. “She stayed near me in Andheri. I wanted to meet her, so we both went to her place on a motorcycle. When I saw her, I thought, ‘Oh my God! What a beautiful girl!’ It was a great discovery,” he added.Looking back on his early career, Shekhar said he never consciously avoided films where the female lead played a more prominent role. Whether it was Utsav, Manav Hatya, p Jyoti SarupRehguzar alongside Simple Kapadia, was happy to accept strong supporting parts. “I just chose everything that came my way. Utsav was a treat. Being chosen as the hero opposite Rekha! She was the bigger star and had a bigger role, but I was just as important and I noticed,” said Shekhar.She also talked about Naache Mayuri (1986), based on the true story of Sudha Chandran, where she played a flawed character. “It revolved around the heroine losing her leg, but she still comes out as the winner. I played the hero, but he was negative. When she loses her leg, it leaves her in the lurch, but it comes back when she becomes famous,” recalled the actor.Sharing another memorable incident, Shekhar reflected on his role in Pati Parmeshwar alongside Dimple Kapadiawhere his character finally seeks forgiveness. He revealed that audiences didn’t really like his on-screen character, which he saw as a compliment to his performance. “Even Pati Parmeshwar, the film I did with Dimple Kapadia, I went back and asked for forgiveness. I remember my father watching it in a theater in Jaipur, where the audience said, ‘Maaro saale ko!’ I was very upset! He asked me: ‘Why would you do a role like this?’ I said, “But that’s the character’s victory.” I wanted people to hate me,” said Shekhar.