Queen Elizabeth II, the longest ruling monarch of the United Kingdom, died at 96 on Thursday, September 8. Following the death of the queen, her eldest son, Prince Charles, succeeds as the new king of Britain.
Having said that, not many Indians are aware of or even if they are aware of, or remember that prominent Bollywood actress Padmini Kolhapure had once kissed the new king, Prince Charles.
In 1980, when the prince had visited India, the actress made headlines internationally after she kissed him and went on to be recognised in Britain as the 'woman who kissed Prince Charles' for years.
Padmini Kolhapure kissed Prince Charles
The prince was visiting Mumbai and he wanted to witness a film shooting. That is when he ended up reaching Rajkamal Studios where Padmini Kolhapure was shooting for 'Ahista Ahista'. When Prince Charles arrived, actress Shashikala welcomed him warmly and performed the 'Aarti'.
Padmini, who seemed excited to meet the Prince of Wales, greeted him with a garland and planted a kiss on his cheeks. And, this was enough to make headlines both in India and Britain and it did.
'I was left embarrassed'
Later in a throwback interview with The Times of India, Padmini had opened up about it in detail. "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 undoubtedly one of the most successful actors in Bollywood. She was on the top of her career in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s. She had begun her career as a child artist and ever since then she has been a part of innumerable films, including 'Prem Rog', 'Souten', 'Woh Saat Din' and 'Pyar Jhukta Nahin'.
