Rajesh Kumar recalls a co-star once slapped him 'hard' for drinking on set; says, “The whole crew kept quiet and..”

Actor Rajesh Kumar, best known for his iconic role as Rosesh in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, and for starring in shows like Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya, recently recalled a memorable incident on the set of Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya. In an interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Rajesh shared how veteran actor Manohar Singh slapped him harder than expected during a scene to teach him a valuable lesson.
“We were shooting a nine-minute-long sequence,” Rajesh said. “The scene had me sitting in a bar, drinking, and my father walks in and slaps me. I had never played an alcoholic before, so I took a shot of brandy to get into character. During rehearsals, everything went fine. But when we shot the final scene, after seven minutes of filming, Manohar ji slapped me so hard that my ears rang for a while. The crew was silent, and I couldn’t help but wonder why he hit me so hard.”
He continued, “Manohar ji quickly hugged me and apologized. He explained, ‘I slapped you to make you understand that you should never drink while acting.’ He then took me for a walk and shared the 11 traits of an alcoholic. That moment left a lasting impression on me, and I realized the seriousness of the craft.” Despite his success on television, Rajesh left acting in 2019 to pursue farming. However, after facing multiple failures and financial difficulties, he returned to acting with Kota Factory.

Although his career began to pick up again with projects like Binny And Family, Rajesh still struggled financially. “At one point, I had only Rs 2,500 in my bank account and couldn’t even buy chocolates for my kids,” he revealed. He has since landed roles in films alongside Shahid Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, marking his triumphant return to acting. Rajesh had earlier shared how he had to take up farming due to no work in the Industry.