Masala Babes World: 2009

It’s a well-known fact that Neetu Chandra is one of the hottest babes in Bollywood. It’s also no secret that she’s playing a hot chick in her next Tamil venture,
Teeratha Vilayattu Pillai (TVP). But what we didn’t know until recently is that Neetu found out during the shoot that there’s something hotter than her. No, we aren’t talking about another girl. It’s those piping hot red chillies.

We recently reported that the makers of Teeratha Vilayattu Pillai (TVP) wanted to use Neetu Chandra’s sex appeal to highlight a steamy scene and hence, the director decided to put Neetu in a bathtub full of red chillies. Recounting her experience, the actress says, “We were filming the intro song of Vishal in a studio in Mumbai. The song, Teeratha Vilayattu Pillai Thol Sera…, composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, was to be picturised on Vishal, Tanushree, Sarah and me. Director Thiru said that this song would be the highlight of the movie and this is what we would be using in the promos.”

Neetu, quite excited by the racy number, was willing to give her 100 percent. “Thiru told me that I had to soak in a bathtub that would be filled with dummy red chillies. But when we finally set up the bathtub, we realised that the fake chillies weren’t enough to fill the tub. So, Thiru told me that he would use real chillies. I was taken aback and wasn’t sure how to react,” she recalls.

But, being the professional she is, she agreed and plunged into the tub that was filled with red chillies. “I literally felt hot,” she laughs. “The spice started acting up within a few minutes. But, I had to seduce Vishal! So, I would throw seductive looks at him and as soon as Thiru said cut, I would wipe away the tears. Finally, after the shot was over, I ran to the shower and soaked myself in a tub (thankfully, without chillies) for over two hours. It took me one whole day to get rid of the rashes I had developed.”

But, Neetu says it was one helluva experience that she won’t forget easily. “The entire credit goes to Thiru. For a first-timer, he’s mindblowing. And choreographers Bosco and Ceaser have given a new dimension to this intro song,” she says.