Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 10, 2014)

Arshad Warsi may have wanted to add extra spice to a scene in his film, but it left him with a burning tongue and watery eyes. The actor, who was recently shooting in Panchgani for Manish Jha’s film, The Legend of Michael Mishra, along with Aditi Rao Hydari, apparently ate 47 chillies for a scene in the film.

A source from the film’s unit says that Arshad was initially meant to eat a few carrots in the scene. “It required him to come on stage and participate in a carrot eating contest. The actor then approached director Manish Jha and producer Kishor Arora and suggested that they consider a chilly eating contest instead,” says the source.

Adds the source, “Arshad ended up eating as many as 47 chillies in quick succession for that perfect shot where he is declared the winner of the contest. After the scene was shot, he was understandably uncomfortable. The makers ordered for ice-cold milk and Arshad gulped down 1.5 litres of it to douse the fire in his mouth.” Clearly, acting comes with its own set of occupational hazards.