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Moushumi Chatterjee has cemented her place as one of the most admired actresses of Indian cinema. She was one of those rare actresses who actually started working as a leading lady in Hindi movies after she got married. In a recent interview Moushumi talked about her career struggles and how she lost out the lead role in Guddi a film that later went to Jaya Bachchan and became a milestone in her career. At the age of 15 Moushumi Chatterjee made her acting debut with the Bengali film Balika Badhu alongside legendary actor Uttam Kumar. Around the same time she got married to Jayanta Mukherjee and had received an offer from director Hrishikesh Mukherjee to work in Guddi (1971). She turned down the film as her character was supposed to wear a short skirt. In a chat with Filmfare Moushumi Chatterjee recalled I didn’t do Guddi because the heroine was supposed to wear a short skirt. My father said no because firstly this was a Hindi film and because we didn’t know who Hrishikesh Mukherjee was. He said I did Talaash only because I wanted to make up for what happened on Guddi. He said I ruined your career. Hrishikesh was so upset by Moushumis refusal that he promised to destroy her career even before it began. Years later while working on the 1990s TV show Talaash he confessed that her rejection hurt his ego and he no longer wanted to cast her as heroine. Thats when the role was offered to Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan) and catapulted her to fame. He said… ‘At that time I was such an egoist. I thought you said no to Hrishikesh Mukherjee we will see how you come and make a career in Mumbai.’ He said I did not want you to work on that movie. I don’t want this heroine I want that heroine. Moushumi revealed. Moushumi shared that she was never comfortable with revealing outfits and started wearing sarees at the age of 13. In the same interview she recalled an incident when director Mani J Rabadi asked her to wear a backless blouse and short ghagra for a film. She started crying and told her husband I feel like I am naked. He then assured her that the dress was okay and not anything unusual for films.