When Neelam Kothar had ugly fight with Ekta Kapoor over husband Samir Soni: 'He had some intimate...'

Neelam Kothari, known for her work in Hindi films, began her acting career with Jawaani (1984), directed by Ramesh Behl. In 2001, she stepped away from the limelight to focus on her jewellery business, Neelam Jewels.

Nearly two decades later, in 2020, she made a comeback on the small screen with Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, featuring Maheep Kapoor, Bhavna Pandey, and Seema Sajdeh. Neelam tied the knot with actor Samir Soni in 2011 and has often spoken about how protective she feels towards him.

In a chat with Zoom, she recalled having a major argument with her close friend Ektaa Kapoor over an intimate scene Samir was required to do in one of Ektaa’s shows. Neelam, who had earlier mentioned on Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives that she and Samir always consult each other before agreeing to roles involving such scenes, opened up about how strongly she felt at the time.

He said, "I am very possessive about my husband. I got to know that he had some intimate scenes, which is fine. I didn’t know to what extent those scenes were and Ektaa happened to be the producer of that show. So I didn’t speak to Ektaa for almost 3-4 months because we had this rip-roaring fight."

In the same interview, Neelam shared that during the argument with Ektaa Kapoor, Ektaa firmly responded, making her realise the need to see things differently. She stated, "I was like, 'How could you make my husband do this?' And she was like 'Didn’t your husband read the script before doing it?' So there was this rift that happened. It’s over now. I have also learnt my lesson that it is his profession. There are certain scenes that an actor has to do which is absolutely fine. Now, I am okay with it. After many fights, and that to fighting with my best friend and my husband at the same time. I have learnt my lesson, zip it."

In a chat with GPlus, Samir Soni mentioned that he had spoken to Neelam beforehand about his role and ensured she was comfortable with it. He revealed that it was actually one of Neelam’s friends who stirred things up and influenced her reaction. 

He said, "Apparently, one of her friends had seen the show, and she had instigated her, 'How could you let your husband do something like this?' and all that. I told her that I showed her the script. At this point in time, I can’t say no to producers because they had already given me the script and I can’t say no to my wife."