Matinee Masala

No one would ever forget the scene in Bobby where Rishi Kapoor comes to Dimple Kapadia’s house and she answers the door looking very casual. Well, the scene is actually a replica of the immortalized meeting between Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Raj Kapoor went to Nargis’ house to offer the lead lady’s role in Aag. Nargis described the incident to her friends as a ‘fat pinkie’s arrival who had come to sign her’!

But the pair had an instant chemistry on screen which was extended off-screen too. They went ahead to do 15 films together including the classics Awaara and Shri 420. The two developed feelings for each other and had become the talk of the town. Knowing Raj Kapoor’s liking for the color white, Nargis wore white in her films and was known his Lady in White.  While Nargis was keen to get married to Raj Kapoor and have a family, Raj Kapoor- who already had a wife and a child, refused to break the societal norms and marry Nargis. The lady even tried to seek permission from the then Home Minister Morarji Desai for a second marriage. But Raj Kapoor was afraid of being ostracized from his family and society. The man who made films on bold and rebel themes succumbed to the norms in real life. It was during this time that Nargis was offered Mother India by her mentor Mehboob. Sunil Dutt, who played her son in the movie, saved Nargis from a fire accident on the sets of the same film. Dutt later married Nargis and soon after the that the lady retired from her film career and looked after her family and was involved in social services.

Thus ended the journey of once adored golden couple on screen. What remained were just the immortalized scenes and songs.