Shekhar Suman recalls nervous first shot with Rekha in Utsav: ‘I owe my entire existence to Shashi Kapoor’

Shekhar Suman has gone down memory lane, revisiting the extraordinary chain of events that led to his big break in Utsav—a film that not only paired him opposite Rekha but also cemented his lifelong gratitude towards Shashi Kapoor.In a recent conversation, Suman described his journey as something “written in a script,” insisting that destiny had already charted his path long before he realised it. Reflecting on fate, Suman told Red FM, “Life is like a script. As you go on, one page keeps opening after another. But God’s strict advice is—don’t try to open the pages. Because first of all, it won’t end, and if you do, you are going against nature.”He added that even attempts to predict the future are futile. “People ask astrologers what will happen. Nothing—only what is destined by God will happen. It’s already written.”Long before Utsav, Suman was a theatre actor in Delhi when late actress Shammi spotted him for a cameo in Pighalta Aasman. He was offered Rs 1000, with Rs 100 as a signing amount—an amount he remembers vividly.What followed, however, was a lesson in patience. “They told me a car would come in three days. I waited in my only suit—which was torn from the back because I had fallen off a motorcycle. I had patched it because I couldn’t afford a new one,” he recalled.The car never came—until it suddenly did, days later. “I had lost hope, thinking ‘Bombay people make big promises’. Then one day an Ambassador arrived and called me down.”Suman’s life changed when he landed in Mumbai and met Shashi Kapoor on a film set. What began as a casual interaction soon turned into an unimaginable opportunity.“He told me about a film he was making—Utsav. Rekha was the heroine. Then suddenly he asked me, ‘Would you play the hero?’ I literally fell off my chair,” Suman said.The role, however, came with a condition—he had to pass a screen test with director Girish Karnad and, crucially, be approved by Rekha. At RK Studios, Suman realised the scale of competition. “There were around 5000 boys, all saying they were there for the same role. I thought I had no chance,” he admitted.After his screen test, he was told he was “99% in”—the final 1% depended on Rekha’s approval.Days of anxious waiting followed. “I used to sit at Prithvi Theatre every day, waiting for her. One day she came, looked at me from top to bottom, and walked in. That was my test.”The next day, Kapoor delivered the life-changing news: Rekha had said yes.Suman’s reaction was nothing short of cinematic. “I ran barefoot across streets and flyovers to tell my sister. She fainted out of excitement,” he said.That moment, he believes, defined his journey forever.Looking back, Suman is unequivocal about the man who made it all possible.“Today, whatever I am—my existence, my life—I owe it to one man called Shashi Kapoor. I bow down to him. If he hadn’t chosen me, I don’t think I would be sitting here today,” he said.He also acknowledged Rekha and Girish Karnad for their support but maintained that Kapoor’s belief in him was the turning point. Despite being a newcomer, Suman shared screen space with one of the biggest stars of the time. His first shot with Rekha involved hugging her—something that initially made him nervous.“She said, ‘He’s a newcomer—how is he so confident?’ But she helped me enormously throughout the shoot. She was very professional, very cooperative—no tantrums at all,” he recalled.For Suman, the journey from a struggling theatre actor with a torn suit to leading a major film opposite Rekha was not just about talent—it was about timing, belief, and fate.“I was just at the right place at the right time,” he said.