When Padmini Kolhapure gave ‘King’ Charles a surprise kiss. Watch video

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest ruling monarch of the United Kingdom, died at 96. Her son, Prince Charles, is now king. But not many remember that Bollywood actor Padmini Kolhapure had once kissed the future king and went on to be recognised in Britain as the ‘woman who kissed Prince Charles’. Also read: Queen Elizabeth II: Her best on-screen portrayals from The Queen to The Crown

Padmini had greeted King Charles on the sets of her 1981 film Ahista Ahista where she planted a peck on his cheek in the heat of the moment. She had put a garland around his neck, kissed him on his cheek and laughed before walking away. This was enough to make headlines both in India and Britain and it did.

Speaking with Hindustan Times in 2007, Padmini had said, “It was just a peck on the cheek…the media took it somewhere else. It was no big deal.”

She later revealed that kissing the now King made her known as the ‘woman who kissed Prince Charles’. Talking about the incident, she said in a 2013 interview to Times of India, “He was visiting Mumbai and I don’t know what he thought that he wanted to see a shoot. We were shooting for Ahista Ahista at Rajkamal Studios. Shashikala ji did his Indian aarti and I just greeted him with a peck on his cheek. But, in those days, it became a big thing. I remember I went to London for a holiday and this British immigration officer asked me, ‘Are you the same person who kissed Prince Charles?’ I was left embarrassed.”

Padmini Kolhapure is among the most successful actors in Bollywood. She was on the top of her career in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s. Ahista Ahista had Padmini in the role of Chandra, daughter of a courtesan. It also starred Shammi Kapoor, Nanda, Kunal Kapoor and Shashikala.