Click it and Unblock the Notifications
Simi Garewal Reveals Raj Kapoor Never Said Well Done To Rishi Kapoor, The Bobby Actor Was Terrified Of His Dad
A couple of days ago, one of the most iconic films of the Hindi film industry, Mera Naam Joker clocked fifty years. The film was directed by maverick filmmaker Raj Kapoor, and it marked the debut of his son Rishi Kapoor. Apart from the latter, the film features Raj Kapoor, Simi Garewal, Kseniya Ryabinkina, Padmini, Rajendra Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Dharmendra and Dara Singh in pivotal roles.
In her latest tete-a-tete with a leading daily, actress Simi Garewal reminisced about the shooting days of Mera Naam Joker and spilled the beans about both Raj and Rishi Kapoor.
Simi On Raj Kapoor's Equation With Rishi Kapoor
Speaking about Raj Kapoor's equation with his son on the sets of Mera Naam Joker, Garewal said, "Raj ji was extremely strict with Chintu. I don't think I ever heard him say a soft word or a ‘well done' to him. And Chintu was terrified of his Dad!"
Simi further added that Rishi Kapoor would keep a safe distance from his dad during the shoot of Mera Naam Joker.
Simi On The Film's Failure At The Box Office
There's no denying that one just can't forget Mera Naam Joker while speaking about the legend Raj Kapoor. However, back in 1970, when the film had released in the theatres, it tanked horribly at the box office.
When Simi was asked what went wrong with the film, she blamed the long duration of the film (four and a half hours).
Distributors Had Advised Raj Kapoor To Shorten The Film
"Without a doubt, it was the length of the film. I think it was like 4 ½ hours- with 2 intervals!! Who could spend half a day watching a film? Children would get restless and agitated and mothers were distraught.
Everyone, even the distributors, told Raj-ji to please shorten it, but he felt it would work. He cut quite a lot afterwards- but it was too late. But yes- now ‘Mera Naam Joker' has become a cult film and people appreciate it a lot," said the Karz actress.
Simi Garewal Misses Rishi Kapoor
In the same interview, Simi said that she misses Rishi Kapoor, who breathed his last on April 30, 2020.
