Bobby turns 50: Rishi Kapoor-Dimple Kapadia film was made to save RK Studios from bankruptcy, heralded teenage romances in Indian cinema

Bobby heralded the advent of teenage love stories in India. A film which saw a boy and girl rebelling against parental authority after they fall in love, the film was something of a surprise for the 1970s India where arranged marriages was still the norm.

The film sees Rishi’s Raj and Dimple’s Bobby fall head over heels for each other, but the class divide between their families doesn’t allow them to marry. Raja, 18, and Bobby, 16, can’t marry legally so they decide to run away to be together, even if it means they have to embrace death.

Bobby was made to save RK Studios

The film may remain iconic after 50 years of its release, but Bobby was made to save RK Studios from bankruptcy after the ambitious Mera Naam Joker flopped. “Bobby was made because Raj Kapoor had to be bailed out. He had this studio mortgage. Bobby was made at a time when Raj Kapoor needed a successful film,” Rishi had told Bollywood Hungama in an earlier interview.

“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. That’s when he chose his son Rishi for the part.

Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in Bobby.

Why Dimple Kapadia, and not Neetu Kapoor, was cast as Bobby

The film was a launch vehicle for Raj’s son Rishi but the casting of the titular role was a challenge for him. For Bobby, he reportedly considered Neetu Singh as well, but chose to cast Dimple instead. Film historian Dilip Thakur told ETimes that Neetu, who was already a famous child actor at the time, was also in contention for the part. He said that at the time, Neetu’s mother wanted her to land the part but Raj chose Dimple because Neetu was already a known face by then and he wanted a new face for his movie.

Prem Chopra’s iconic line

Prem Chopra recalled that even though he just had one line in the film, it became an iconic dialogue and is still associated with him to this day. So much so that the actor’s biography is also named after this dialogue.

In a chat with ETimes, the veteran actor said that Raj Kapoor narrated him the ‘25,000 reward’ scene from the film. The scene takes place towards the end of the film and Rishi and Dimple’s characters have eloped and their family has given an ad in the newspaper announcing a reward for anyone who gives details about there whereabouts. That’s when Prem Chopra spots the duo and starts following them.

Chopra shared that he kept asking Kapoor for a script and he kept saying that he would give it to him soon. Upon reaching the sets, he realised that he only had one dialogue in the film but he improvised upon it by adding his mannerisms. “He told me that I would have only one dialogue in the film, ‘Prem naam hai mera, Prem Chopra’. I never knew that it would become an iconic line,” the actor said. He shared that to this day, fans request him to say this one line wherever he goes.

Bobby was one of the biggest hits of 1973.