Bobby

Raj Kapoor proved himself as a successful director by the release of Bobby. He introduced his next son Rishi, (younger than the elder Randhir) who later in years became a screen icon along with Amitab.

Bobby was released in 1973 during the Rajesh Khanna years and this film was eventful in the sense that people learned and became aware of a young entrant of an old Indian cinema family - The first being the Prithvi Raj Kapoor.

The songs composed by R.D. Burman are mesmerizing and the direction is also superb. This film along with Amitabh's "Zanjeer" both released in 1973 served a real shock to the "Khanna phenomenon" which was the talk of every town for the last so many years.

A completely crazy Romeo and Juliet-style story about two teenagers, him rich and her poor, who fall head over heels for each other and defend their love against all adversity. Maybe not Raj Kapoor's best, but certainly interesting and groundbreaking for its time. This was actually the first Bollywood film I ever saw where it was clearly expressed (even though through a song and dance scene) that the pair was sleeping with each other - even more unusual as the couple consisted of two teenagers! Very Seventies in style with a severely overacting cast, but great fun nevertheless. In many ways a movie of a much freer and more uncompromising spirit than most Bollywood fare of today - but then, it was the Seventies...

Bobby review :

The debacle of Mera Naam Joker (1970) broke showman Raj Kapoor financially as well as emotionally. His semi-autobiographical and philosophical take was too heavy for the audience to digest. This is when he decided to give them candy floss.

A romantic musical is what he started next. Rajesh Khanna, the reigning superstar, was unaffordable to cast as the lead. Raj Saahab settled for his younger son Rishi who had acted as a school boy in Joker. Dimple, daughter of noted industrialist and Kapoor's family friend Chunnibhai Kapadia, was signed as the heroine. The intent was to keep the budget to the minimum and give audience what they would understand and absorb easily..

Bobby released at the prestigious Metro Cinema in Mumbai in September 1973 and became an instant blockbuster. Though the story of a rich boy falling for a poor girl and then eloping with her offered nothing new, the sheer innocence and freshness of the new pair (Rishi- Dimple) coupled with some awesome music score by Laxmikant Pyarelal worked big time in its favour. Raj Saahab gave some memorable supporting characters like Premnath's rum guzzling Jack Braganza with his ill-fitting suit and open trouser zip!! "AAVAIESSS", a Goan phrase he keeps repeating in the movie..

The sweet sixteen Dimple Kapadia became the national crush after Bobby. Her short skirts and teeny weeny bikini alongwith her fabulous performance got tremendous acclaim and awards that year. She was touted to be the next big star but shockingly, settled for a marriage with Rajesh Khanna. Later, she made a grand comeback in the '80s with Ramesh Sippy's Saagar (1985) and continued her glorious Bollywood innings right till the recent Brahmastra...the elegant lady is my most favourite Bollywood actress of all time!!

Coming to Bobby, "Mujhse dosti karoge?" became the popular pickup line of that time and "Hum tum ek kamre mein bandh ho" song is still referenced in Bollywood. I also love "Main shaayar toh nahi.." number where Shailendra Singh's voice suited the young Rishi so perfectly. Prem Chopra appeared in a cameo and his one liner "Prem naam hai mera..Prem Chopra!!" immortalised him just what "Mogambo khush hua" did to Amrish Puri later.

Personally, I consider Bobby to be Raj Saahab's most underwhelming effort. The film lacked the intellect and underlying social commentary normally associated with his each and every film. It is as if he was mocking the audience saying "You didn't like my masterpiece Mera Naam Joker, so eat this!!".

P. S. (Spoiler alert): Not many know that Raj Kapoor had filmed a sad ending where Rishi- Dimple die but heeding to his trusted distributor, Raj Saahab opted for a happy ending for the movie. After all, such an innocent sweet couple deserved to live happily ever after.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

Wanting to get back into "Hindi retro" movies after a few years hiatus, a friend of mine in Kerala showed me the YouTube channel Bollywood 70s 80s, where this movie had been uploaded with English subtitles.

Fifty-one years later & in another country, I found 'Bobby' to be a timeless story. The namesake is for Bobby Braganza, the daughter of a drunkard Goan fisherman. Raja, the son of a rich but unsympathetic businessman, returns home at the end of term from boarding school, where his father throws him a party at which he has the pick of several forward caste nubiles, with Nima, a particularly flirty one, making herself explicitly available to him. Raja, however, is disappointed by these options, seemingly feeling that none of these women really wanted to get to know him for who he was. Amidst his despair at finding a genuine partner whom he would understand & who would understand him, he is stricken with passion by the demure, painfully shy Bobby. Despite her feelings of inadequacy for being beneath his standing, & initially being indifferent to him, she too finds her passion for him.

The story touches lightly on topics that are more familiar to Indian audiences than those in my own part of the world - namely, caste distinction, the sensitivities of family honour, corruption, & bridal kidnapping. It touches lightly enough that these topics don't overseason the rest of the story, which itself unfolds & develops at a very sensible pace. It's not a short movie, but this allows for the story to cook slowly & feel more natural.

I was drawn to this movie specifically because of the ethereal, sphincter-tickling beauty of Dimple Kapadia. Despite being about fifteen at the time of filming, she played her role brilliantly - as did all of her elder peers. Aruna Irani was also pretty sizziling, but, like Raja, I was turned off initially by her immodest, even aggressive, come-on towards him was.

I would give this movie a 10/10, but for two reasons. I deduct one star in that the dynamic between Bobby & Raja consists almost entirely of anticipation & struggle, & the audience does not get to view any external expression of their love (perhaps the sensibilities of Indian cinema in that era were not in favour of displaying gratuitous lovemaking). I also deduct a star for the movie's rather limited production value, which I would have liked to see more polished, especially given how beautiful the story is.

"Bobby" is a fresh teenage love-story that has all the elements to make it a commercial, yet unique film.

Raja (Rishi Kapoor) is the son of a rich family. He was naughty in his childhood, and is sent to boarding school. He was never truly given the love of his own parents.

He grows up and comes back home. In his birthday party he catches a glimpse of Bobby (Dimple Kapadia). Raja is swept away, and for him, it's love at first sight.

Raja finds out that Bobby is the granddaughter of his governess Mrs. Briganza (Durga Khote). All his life, Raja had treated Mrs. Briganza more like his mother than his own mom, Sushma (Sonia Sahani). Bobby's dad is a fisherman named Jack Briganza (Prem Nath), who definitely likes his rum. He longs nothing more in the world than his daughter to be happy.

Raja and Bobby start to get to know each other better. And as they had suspected, they were soul mates. Now all they needed was permission to get married.

But they soon learn that the road may not be as smooth as they'd predicted. Raja's dad, Nath (Pran), has a lot of pride in his money and his "khandaan". Nath doesn't get along with Jack...and because of this, Raja and Bobby and prohibited from seeing each other.

But as the world knows, love has no boundaries...but in this case, could it be possible that Raja and Bobby can never be together? Was money that big of a deal? Or will it be a happy ending? Watch Bobby to find out!

I certainly loved this movie! The star cast was chosen nicely. Rishi Kapoor delivers a strong screen presence all while being pinch-my-cheek cute! Adorable I tell ya! Dimple Kapadia also looks cute in many scenes, and acts pretty good. Aruni Irani is wonderful in her role, and the character she played was expressed very well through her actions. Pran, well, what can I say? Akhir Pran hi tho hai! Woh hume kabhi disappoint nahin karega! Prem Nath acted nicely, and so did Durga Khote. Sonia Sahani had a small role, but she played it well to a nice extent. Farida Jalal had a significant special appearance. She played it perfectly.

The music! My god the music! Laxmikant-Pyarelal made beautiful evergreen tunes! The songs...the background music...everything was absolutely perfect. Well, except one thing. This is my opinion, but I didn't think there was any need to use Shailendra Singh for these marvelous songs. I think even more beauty could have been added to the songs if someone like Rafi, Kishore, or Mukesh had sung the songs. Besides, SS's voice didn't even suit Rishi that well.

I just have to talk about Lata of course! She once again proves how extremely flawlessly beautiful her voice is. When I finished watching the movie, her melodious voice continued to sing in my head. All the duets like "Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein", "Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai", and "Jhoot Bole Kauva Kaate" are sung perfectly by Lata. Her solo "Aye Phansa" is quite enjoyable too, it shows her versatility. Her one-line song, "Akhiyon Ko Rehne Do", is quite effective in the movie.

The hit song "Mein Shayar Tho Nahin" is composed perfectly...the lyrics are quite nice too. "Na Chahoon Sona Chandi" is quite entertaining, Manna Dey sings very nicely.

And last but not least, the direction by our showman Raj Kapoor. It was great, every scene is directed and edited with care, in order for the movie to be organized as well as entertaining. Some scenes made me cry. The character development is displayed well through the direction. One flaw though, and this is just my opinion. Sometimes the shorts/skirts for Dimple are just too short, and tended to give her a sleazy look. I was just waiting to see her in a pretty sari, but unfortunately I didn't get to see that.

But anyway, "Bobby" is definitely a classic. I give it a nine out of ten. Definitely worth watching.