# Sridevi Cut Out Salt After Director Demanded Weight Loss, Fainted on Set and Fractured a Tooth > Under pressure to slim down for the 1991 film Kshana Kshanam, Sridevi eliminated salt from her diet, triggering severe low blood pressure that led to a 20-minute blackout and facial injuries on set. **Type:** article · **Category:** Bollywood · **Published:** 2026-10-06 · **Source:** TrendKia **Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/bollywood/philma-nirdeshaka-ke-vajana-ghatane-ke-kahane-para-sridevi-ne-tyaga-tha-namaka-seta-para-behosha-hokara-tora-tha-danta-43805 · **Language:** English **Tags:** Sridevi, Ram Gopal Varma, Pankaj Parashar, Boney Kapoor, Kshana Kshanam, Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin, Bollywood News Behind the mesmerizing on-screen grace of Bollywood's first female superstar Sridevi lay intense physical sacrifices that few outside film circles ever witnessed. Celebrated across generations for her magnetic screen presence, the legendary actress pushed her physical endurance to extremes to satisfy demanding visual standards on camera. A harrowing episode from 1991 highlights the severe toll that restrictive dieting took on her well-being, when a director's insistence on an ultra-lean look prompted her to cut salt entirely out of her daily meals, ultimately causing her to collapse unconscious during a shoot. ## Sridevi's Multi-Industry Stardom and the Demands of Kshana Kshanam Sridevi's prolific career extended far beyond Hindi cinema, having built an enduring legacy across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films long before conquering Mumbai. After cementing her legendary stature in South Indian cinema, she delivered historic Bollywood hits including Himmatwala, Sadma, Mr. India, Chandni, ChaalBaaz, and Lamhe, which confirmed her superstar status across the country. Amid this phenomenal career run, she began work on the 1991 Telugu release Kshana Kshanam, helmed by director Ram Gopal Varma and co-starring Venkatesh. The film went on to become one of the most celebrated milestones in her entire body of work, though its production demanded an extraordinary personal toll. ## Extreme Dietary Restrictions and the Exclusion of Salt Filmmaker Pankaj Parashar recounted the background of this period in an old interview, revealing that Sridevi was subjected to immense pressure to drop weight for Kshana Kshanam. Ram Gopal Varma wanted the leading lady to present a distinct, sharply defined look for the role. Taking the filmmaker's artistic instructions with absolute seriousness and carrying the weight of massive audience expectations, Sridevi enforced severe discipline over her intake. She made the radical decision to banish salt completely from her meals. Driven to leave no room for flaw in her screen appearance, her relentless dietary routine soon began depriving her body of vital minerals. ## The Set Collapse, Facial Injuries, and a 20-Minute Blackout Consuming zero salt triggered severe sodium depletion throughout her system, sending her blood pressure plummeting to dangerous lows. Weakened by prolonged food restriction and crashing blood pressure levels, her health began deteriorating rapidly. While filming scenes for Pankaj Parashar's project Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin, Sridevi experienced a sudden bout of acute dizziness and collapsed directly onto the floor. As she went down, her face crashed violently against a nearby table. The impact caused severe trauma to her face and broke one of her teeth. The sudden accident left the crew in complete panic as Sridevi remained unresponsive for roughly 20 minutes before regaining consciousness. ## Disruption to Production and an Unfinished 2004 Release The extensive facial lacerations and broken tooth forced Sridevi into prolonged bed rest, immediately derailing the production schedule of Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin. Pankaj Parashar noted that the project never truly recovered from this setback. In the aftermath, financial backers withdrew their support and the producer passed away, compelling Parashar himself to walk away from directing duties. The troubled production languished for years before finally being released in theatres in 2004 in an incomplete state, entirely without an originally planned climax sequence. ## Boney Kapoor on Her Lifelong Struggle With Low Blood Pressure The habit of extreme fasting and avoiding salt continued to cast a shadow over Sridevi's health long after the incident. Her husband, renowned producer Boney Kapoor, confirmed in an interview that Sridevi frequently fasted and stayed away from salt in an effort to maintain her screen appearance. Kapoor explained that even following their marriage, chronic low blood pressure frequently triggered episodes of sudden blackouts. The relentless quest to preserve an immaculate visual appearance on screen remained a hazardous physical struggle throughout her life. ## What this means for you Crash diets that eliminate essential minerals like salt pose severe health hazards and can induce sudden medical emergencies. - **Health Risks:** Completely cutting salt from daily meals triggers acute sodium depletion. This causes severe drops in blood pressure, dizziness, and sudden blackouts. - **Safe Weight Management:** Starvation diets harm internal organ functions rather than offering sustainable fitness. Individuals seeking weight loss should consult certified nutritionists before making drastic meal changes. - **Workplace Awareness:** Pushing through physical exhaustion on the job risks catastrophic physical accidents. Anyone experiencing lightheadedness or fatigue should stop activity and seek rest immediately. - **Resisting Cosmetic Pressures:** Unrealistic body appearance expectations often encourage dangerous health habits. Physical wellness and balanced nutrition must always take precedence over cosmetic demands. ## Why this happened The incident occurred due to extreme dietary restrictions adopted after a filmmaker demanded rapid weight loss for a movie role. Severe nutrient depletion directly triggered the physical collapse. - **Director's Aesthetic Demand:** Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma wanted Sridevi to appear in a specific lean shape for the Telugu movie Kshana Kshanam. This requirement placed immense pressure on the actress to lose weight rapidly. - **Complete Salt Elimination:** In her attempt to cut weight, Sridevi stopped consuming salt altogether. This induced acute sodium deficiency and caused her blood pressure to plummet severely. - **Sudden Physical Collapse:** While filming another project under extreme physical exhaustion, she experienced acute dizziness and fell. Her face struck a nearby table, breaking a tooth and leaving her unconscious. ## Questions & Answers ### 1. Why did Sridevi completely cut salt out of her diet? She eliminated salt to rapidly shed weight following director Ram Gopal Varma's demand for her role in the Telugu film Kshana Kshanam. ### 2. What injuries did Sridevi sustain during the set accident? Her head struck a table when she collapsed, resulting in severe facial injuries and a broken tooth. ### 3. Which film was Sridevi shooting when she collapsed? She fainted on the set of director Pankaj Parashar's film Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin. ### 4. How long was Sridevi unconscious after collapsing on set? Sridevi remained unconscious for approximately 20 minutes before regaining awareness. ### 5. How did the accident affect the film Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin? Production derailed, financiers backed out, and the producer passed away, causing the movie to release unfinished without a climax in 2004. ### 6. What did Boney Kapoor disclose about Sridevi's health habits? He shared that she routinely skipped meals and avoided salt to maintain her looks, which caused recurring low blood pressure and blackouts. --- _TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.. Machine-readable view; canonical HTML at the URL above._