Kamlesh Sawant recalls a Drishyam slap gone wrong

Kamlesh Sawant has made a career of playing characters audiences love to distrust. Now he has opened up about a moment on the Drishyam films that made him panic: an on-screen slap that landed for real.

A rehearsed slap turns real

In a new interview with Screen, Sawant said the scene between his sub-inspector Laxmikant Gaitonde and Ishita Dutta’s character had been blocked with a fixed gap in rehearsal. When the final take began, that gap had shrunk. He raised his hand exactly as he had practised, and, as Sawant put it, ‘my hand stuck right on Ishita Dutta’s face.’

It was an accident of movement, not intention. On even the most controlled set, a changed mark can turn a rehearsed gesture into something very different.

• The plan: a slap scene with a safe, measured distance between the actors.
• What changed: the distance closed before the final take.
• The outcome: Sawant’s hand connected, and Dutta stepped up to support him.

Ishita Dutta steps in for her co-star

Sawant admitted he turned red with panic as director Nishikant Kamat reacted angrily. Dutta intervened immediately. Sawant recalled her saying, ‘It’s not his fault,’ and explaining that the distance had changed because of her.

For Sawant, that support carried real weight. ‘She stepped forward to support me, and that’s a very big thing,’ he said.

The moment says something about how actors protect each other on set. Dutta’s quick explanation kept a small mistake from turning into a bigger one. It also explains why Sawant has held on to the memory: a co-star’s first instinct was to step in, not to stay quiet.

Ajay Devgn closes the distance

Sawant also remembered reuniting with Ajay Devgn on a Drishyam set in Goa, nearly 14 years after the two first shared screen space in Khakee (2004). He kept his distance because Ajay had bigger scenes and long dialogues to prepare for.

Then the star walked up to him himself. Sawant said Ajay remembered the Khakee track scene and a scene with his on-screen wife, and quoted him as saying: ‘Wow, what an actor, she is!’

There is a familiar hierarchy on a big Bollywood set: leads carry long schedules, while character artistes wait. Sawant’s memory flips that assumption slightly — he expected distance, but the people around him closed it instead.

Why this tiny slip matters

The Drishyam films run on precise, high-stakes storytelling. A bully cop’s slap lands because it feels dangerous; knowing the danger briefly became real adds a layer for fans revisiting the scene.

For fans who love set lore, the detail is also a lesson in blocking. When an actor’s mark changes between rehearsal and action, a practised move can become a real blow, no matter how experienced the performer.

For Sawant, the lasting takeaway is simpler: big stars have treated a self-described ‘small character artist’ with kindness and respect.

Source: The Times of India