Actor Rishi Kapoor passed away on April 30, 2020, after his prolonged battle with leukemia. But, the actor left behind a big legacy with his work. He was the third generation of the Kapoors who witnessed tremendous success in the film industry after his grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor and father Raj Kapoor. At a very young age, he won National Award for Best Child Artiste for his role in Mera Naam Joker. But, the Raj Kapoor starrer turned out to be a big box office debacle even after receiving the critical claim. Soon, the actor needed a huge success on the big screen for him to keep running the RK Studios and that is how Bobby starring Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia happened.
Back in 2017 during the promotions of his memoir ‘Khullam Khulla’, Rishi Kapoor spoke to Bollywood Hungama about what kind of memories he had of Bobby. “Very pleasant memories. It will always stay very close to me. Bobby was shot 44 years back. God willing if I am living in the next six years, it will be 50 years to that film. For me, it’s a masterpiece.”
“What do I say about Bobby? Bobby was a film made because Raj Kapoor had to be bailed out. He had this studio mortgage. Whatever money he earned all his life, was always invested in his films. It all kept rolling. It was never invested in any other kind of industrial zone…it was always his films. He was so passionate about his films. So, Bobby was made at a time when Raj Kapoor needed a successful film. And the easiest way out after Mera Naam Joker debacle was to take big stars and make a film as there was a 100 percent hit chance since Raj Kapoor was making it. That is why Rajesh Khanna and that time, I am told, Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz were keen to work with Raj Kapoor. They would do anything to work with him. He didn’t believe taking stars in the film, in the sense that, his vision and thinking were different,” he added.
Raj Kapoor was keen on making a teenage love story and wanted new faces in the film. “In those days, he used to share comics with me. I used to read Archie comics. Raj Kapoor was really inspired to make a really romantic teenage love story with teenage actors. So, that is how it came about to make Bobby. If you see, Bobby is not the name of the boy but the name of the girl. It was a well-balanced story but it titled towards the girl in the film. It wasn’t like I was taken in it because it was my launch. I was taken in it by default. The film was Dimple Kapadia’s. When we were scouting for girls and we found Dimple, then they thought ‘We need a hero and we have one at home, we should take him only!’ I was told to lose some weight and both of us lost weight and that is how I came into the picture.”
The film instantly changed the life of 21-year-old Rishi Kapoor but also things got to his head since he went to through rough patches after that. “Even my entry in the film was pretty basic. It wasn’t on a motorbike or a horse. It was a normal film…basically, we made a film for Raj Kapoor. He had a concept of the film and that is how he was doing it. What happened? Dimple got married (to Rajesh Khanna), the picture got released, it became a huge success, and full credit was given to Rishi Kapoor. I got the whole credit and I became a superstar at the age of 21. I mean imagine with so much success and money, imagine what state I would be in. It happens to anybody. These new generation kids are smarter. Back in 1973-74, a 21-year-old was a very grounded and innocent boy. These days even 12-year-olds are smarter. That is what Bobby actually taught me. I have been through sudden fundamentally rough patches after that. That is how I grew up from the ashes. I would have been destroyed after Bobby if I did not work diligently and come up from the situation. That is how I fought and it happened.”
Bobby, directed by Raj Kapoor, released in 1973.
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