Karisma Kapoor saved me: Prem Qaidi actor Harish Kumar recalls drowning incident

Karisma Kapoor – daughter of veteran actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the elder sister of Kareena Kapoor – made her acting debut with the film Prem Qaidi in 1991. In a recent interview with Instagrant Bollywood, actor Harish Kumar, who was seen opposite Karisma in the film, revealed how she ‘literally’ saved him from drowning in a swimming pool during a scene’s shoot. Also read: Karisma Kapoor posts vintage video collage as she completes 30 years in films
Harish said he saved Karisma in a scene in the film, but in reality, it was the opposite on set. He recalled, “Karisma usme (pool) koodti hai toh main usme jump karke usko bachata hoon. Lekin haqeeqat main aaj aapko bata raha hoon ki Karisma ko bachane ke liye main kooda, lekin reality mein Karisma ne mujhe bachaya kyunki mujhe swimming nahi aati thi (She jumps into the pool and I save her in the scene. But in reality, she is the one who saved me because I did not know swimming).”
He added, “Main really thodi der mein doobne laga, main doob bhi gaya tha aur sab ko lag raha tha ki ‘Kuch prank kar raha hai ye’. Literally Karisma ne mujhe pakda, uske kapde pakad liye maine. I was literally holding her. Toh aise din bhi hota the 90s mein (I was about to drown, in fact I was drowning, but people on set thought I was playing a prank, so no one helped me expect Karisma. She held me and I held on to her clothes. So all this used to also happen in nineties Bollywood).”
Written by and directed by K Murali Mohana Rao, the film featured Karisma and Harish along with Dalip Tahil, Paresh Rawal, Asrani, Shafi Inamdar and Bharat Bhushan. The film was a remake of the 1990 Telugu film Prema Khaidi. Interestingly, Karisma was only 17 when the film was released, while co-star Harish was a year younger than her.