Bobby

A Hindi film which has nothing new except the faces. Rishi Kapoor & Dimple Kapadia became stars overnight.It is a teenage romance. The usual rich boy -poor girl story with the parents objecting to the match but with memorable songs. Raj Kapoor is a legend. He has given a break to so many that counting them will be pointless. His vision for launching new faces & his music, which never fails to capture your interest. ‘Ram teri Ganga maili’ had the two new faces, Rajiv Kapoor & Mandakini, who never looked that beautiful again. In the next ‘Heena’ Pakistani actress,Zeba was introduced with Ashwini Bhave opposite Rishi Kapoor. Sudden demise of Raj Kapoor led to Rajeev Kapoor completing the film. It does not have the ‘ Raj’ touch!

After the dismal showing of the most expensive, multistarrer magnum opus,’Mera naam joker’ Raj Kapoor was disheartened. He went to Tirupati & putting money in the ‘hundi’ prayed wholeheartedly. Coming back ,started working on a new project with minimum budget. Casting his own son, Rishi Kapoor as the main lead he rejected many aspirants & selected Dimple Kapadia. Neetu Singh is one of the rejects, who later became his favourite heroine on & off screen.

It went on to become the blockbuster of the year. It was very popular in the Soviet Union also. It is among the top 20 blockbusters in India & in the Soviet Union ie overseas too. Later many films emulated the theme but the success was never duplicated. Teenage romance came to India in a big way & with a bang! “Main shayar to nahin’ sung by Shailendra Singh is a cult. He must have sung so many songs in various films but today he is remembered for this one song!

Chanchal’s ‘Beshak mandir masjid todo…’ is one of my favourites. The line ‘Pyar bhara dil kabhi na todo, jis dil mein dilbar rehta’ is the best! It’s relevance & meaning is permanent. What is said years ago needs to be understood even today. The feeling may be transitory but the rules & regulation make it dirty. A teenage pair can have infatuation but elders need to guide them. It is a problem faced by many in every generation. You may or maynot have gone through it but objectively handling the issue is important. Trying to curb only backfires.

The iconic ‘Hum tum ek kamre mein band ho aur chabi kho jaye’ is shot at a guest house in Kashmir. If you visit Pahalgam they show this is the one, When you go to Sonmarg, they show you one there. Outdoor shootings made Kashmir the destination! ( see ‘Kashmir ki kali’ or ‘Junglee’) But making Indian destinations sought after has been the speciality of Hindi films.

‘Jhoot bole kauva kate..’ picturised in a village with Premnath( Dimple’s father ) & the other fishermen was very popular. More than the original I had liked Twinkle Khanna in the same song in a award ceremony. I had high hopes from her, she had the potential to become a great actress. Of course it is entirely Mrs Funnybones choice! ( she is a great writer!) She disappeared after working in a few films. Debuting with Bobby Deol she worked with all three Khans & married Akshay Kumar.

Dimple Kapadia can hold a film together was evident. She was rumoured to be close to Rishi Kapoor for a while but married Rajesh Khanna, then the super star. The closest she got to the initials.. RK! After the birth of her two daughters made a successful comeback with “Saagar” with Rishi Kapoor! She got the Filmfare best actress award for “Bobby” & “Saagar”. Here again she is poor , has a bar & he is rich with a dominant mother, Madhur Jaffrey ( a rare appearance of the diet expert! also wife of Saeed Jaffrey )

She went on with a lot of films like “Prahar”, ‘Kaash’,’Drishti’ for which she was much appreciated. ‘Rudali’ got her National award for the best actress.She was seen in “Dil chahta hai” & again was missed for getting very little footage. ‘Dabang’ has her in Salman’s mother’s role.

Rishi Kapoor had that innocent face that was loved by the audience.He had only a small role in “Mera naam Joker” where he is infatuated by his teacher, Simi Garewal.His looks, dancing ability & his chemistry with his co stars made him very popular.”Main shayar to nahin” is remembered for him & Aruna Irani dancing at the non existent beat. But do we love her! This song was picturised & reused again in “Hum Tum”.

Rishi Kapoor & dimple Kapadia again worked opposite each other in “Pyar mein Twist” which had the potential to become a super hit but the story lacked the zing.Or else it would have been as much appreciated like “Baghban” where years later the magic of Amitabh – Hemaji can be experienced again.

Among the latest saw ‘The Body’ Rishi Kapoor has made it lively with his easy to go style. He is plump & with a belly. Maybe a wig too. But a definite Rishi Kapoor! With a pang of regret felt why did we lose him? The thriller is about the missing body but his investigation remains central to the drama. The rest of the young dynamic stars remain peripheral. This screen presence is a typical character of all the Kapoors! Remember ‘Ijazat’ only final scene has Shashi Kapoor but it lits up the screen!

Bobby brought in fashion that is followed even today. The polka dots got to be called ‘ Bobby print’. The trends were set by the films. ‘Once upon a time in Mumbai’ has Prachi Desai wearing a ‘Bobby print’ blouse when she meets Imran Hasmi. He is in “The body” but you come away remembering the police officer, Rishi Kapoor.

Towards more of his films then. Happy viewing!