Raj Kapoor addicted to ‘red light’ areas called for a ‘beautiful” heroine for first film

Raj Kapoor addicted to ‘red light’ areas called for a ‘beautiful” heroine for first film

Given that he is addicted to ‘red light’ areas, Raj Kapoor, addicted to red light areas, made a demand for a ‘khoobsurat’ (beautiful) heroine for his first film, and went on to suggest a 13-year-old Madhubala: she isn’t a kid.

Raj Kapoor told director Kidar Sharma not to sign him as an actor, as he was sure that his lack of talent would ruin the movie. Once he gave his consent however, he was curious to know who the heroine would be.

Raj Kapoor and Madhubala first worked together on the Kidar Sharma direcrorial film Neel Kamal,

Raj Kapoor’s journey to filmmaking greatness had a rather scandalous beginning. His father, Prithviraj Kapoor, had all but given up on him.

A teenage Raj Kapoor had become unhealthily obsessed with visiting red light areas, and his father had no idea how to set him straight. This was when one of his associates, director Kidar Sharma, offered to take Raj under his wing and get him back in line. In an old interview with Prasar Bharti, Kidar Sharma recalled the story of how he cast Raj Kapoor in the film Neel Kamal, after he lost his cool with him and slapped him across the face when he was an assistant. He was incredibly guilty about hitting Raj, but it was only after watching his vain antics on set that he knew what the youngster would be ideal for.
He said, he saw that Prithviraj Kapoor, his friend, was very upset with his son. He asked him what the matter was, and he said, his son has entered his teens, and wants to know everything about birds and bees. He has quit studies, and becoming very difficult to deal with. He cannot raise his hand on him, and didn’t know what to do’. He told him, ‘Leave the boy to him and he will straighten him out like a school master. Kidar Sharma’s only condition was that Prithviraj Kapoor doesn’t interfere.
Raj Kapoor refused to work with Geeta Bali, told director, ‘Mere standard ki ladki lo’ after she fell on hard times and began working for Rs 6,000

The next day, a young Raj obediently showed up to work as Kidar Sharma’s ‘third assistant’. After a few days, the director noticed that every time he was required to do a clap, Raj Kapoor would comb his hair and use the camera’s lens as a mirror. He let it go a few times, but after several warnings, the youngster did it again. “his punjabi blood was boiling; he called him over, and slapped him across the face. It became red with the imprint of his palm, he said, adding that he felt immensely guilty immediately, and couldn’t sleep that night. He thought that Raj would storm off in a rage, and remind him who his father was, but he didn’t say a word. He smiled and walked away.

The next day, he called Raj to his office, and said that he shouldn’t have hit him. Instead, he said, he had discovered that Raj’s talent didn’t lie in direction, but acting. He said, he handed him
Rs 5,000 and signed him as the hero of his film Neel Kamal. The boy saw the money and began crying. ‘When Kidar slapped him, he didn’t cry, but when he gave him money, he was weeping’. And he said, ‘Don’t you know, kindness hurts most? Why are you being so generous with me? I am useless, I will ruin your film and you, don’t make me your hero’. I hugged him, and reassured him that he was just the right person for the job.”
Instantly, Raj Kapoor asked with a whisper, ‘Ek baat poochun? Heroine kaunsi leke denge (Who will be my heroine)?’ I told him we could get whoever he wanted, and he said that the heroine should be beautiful. I said, ‘We both have the same thinking’. He suggested the daughter of a Pathaan named Madhubala. He said, ‘Woh bachchi-wachchi kuch nahi hai, dekhne mein badi khoobsurat hai, wohi le dijiye (She’s no child, she’s very beautiful, I want her).’ Her father was summoned, and he was in disbelief. She was only 13 years old when I cast her.”
Minoo Katrak, Raj Kapoor, Prithviraj Kapoor, Madhubala, Shammi Kapoor, Krishna Raj Kapoor and Aspi Irani at the muhurat shot of film Main Aur Woh. (Express Archive)

Over the years, Kidar Sharma was involved in introducing several major talents in the film industry. Besides Raj Kapoor and Madhubala, he also launched Geeta Bali, Mala Sinha, musician Roshan, and more. In an episode of the television show Ek Mulaqat, he had recounted the same story with slightly different details. He said, “Prithvi used to respect me a lot. I noticed that he was very downbeat one day, almost on the verge of tears. As a friend, I told him with folded hands, ‘I don’t know what the problem is, but if I can be of help, please tell me’. He told me, ‘Raj is being disturbed by his adolescence. Instead of concentrating on his studies, he frequents red light areas and meets women’. I told him not to worry about it any more, and that I would get him back in line.”

This was Kidar Sharma’s last interview. He died only a few months later, at the age of 89. To Prasar Bharti, he said that his career took a turn for the worse in the 1960s, and that he began taking up odd jobs after quitting films. It took host Shashi Ranjan months to just track him down for the Ek Mulaqat interview. Raj Kapoor went on to become ‘The Showman’, known for his lavish, indulgent movies that often brought him to the brink of bankruptcy. Madhubala was one of the greatest stars of her era, having appeared in several classics. Neel Kamal, Kidar Sharma’s film, was released in 1947.

News Edit KV Raman