Monday, November 2, 2009

Bobby 1973: Sweet memory of watching a hindi movie with my family.









Still fresh in my mind a happy moment when i was 7 years old. This attractive event occurred in school holidays season in year of 1973, but i still remember it until today. At that time all my family members went back to our village in Perlis. One day my mom took me to visit our relatives in Pauh. At the time we reached my cousin's home, they were preparing to go to the movies in the town of Kangar , a hindi movie entitle "Bobby". So after talked briefly and enjoy refreshment, without delaying time we leave for Kangar.

From my cousin house, we go to Kangar by bus. When we arrived in Kangar, my aunt's bring us to the Kapitol cinema to buy a ticket for us to watch films "Bobby" which will begin in 1.00 o'clock in the afternoon. My heart is quite excited because it is the first time in my life i had a chance to watch a movie in cinema.

At 12.30 p.m, we already were in cinema to watch films. They are many people in walking around the cinema's foyer that day. Before entering into the hall, my mother and my cousin buy some sweet for us to eat while watching movie. We managed to buy a pretty cheap third class tickets (probably the only affordable) . We were allowed entering the hall only after all first-class and second class ticket holders already in the hall.. On arrival point in the hall, the cinema assistant ask for our ticket and without saying a word and by using torchlight ..he show us the seats. The atmosphere is already dark and the sound of the broadcast ads are strong enough and the temperature in the hall is also quite cool ...
Let us watch together ... with the polar mint candy in my mouth, my eyes look at the large screen while my ears heard a strong and powerful sound system ...a little child at the age of 7 years old watching Hindustani film with his mother, his aunt and 2 of his cousins .....
Bobby is a love story of today. It is the story of an eighteen years old boy who had just passed his senior Cambridge examination. The only son of rich respectable parents who were too busy to bother about him, he found love, solace and comfort in the company of a sixteen years old school girl.

Out of their love for each other arose many problems. There was disparity of class, age, attitudes and generation gap. How could the two innocent teenagers face this problem when they felt that they were two youngsters on their own with the whole world against them?

The film is a story about the love between two Bombay teenagers of different classes - Raj Nath (Rishi Kapoor), son of a rich businessman Mr. Nath (played by Pran), and Bobby Braganza (Dimple Kapadia), daughter of a poor Christian fisherman Jack Braganza (played by Prem Nath).

The couple first sees each other during Raj's 18th birthday and meet when Raj goes to meet his old governess, Mrs. Braganza. There, he sees her grand daughter Bobby, and it is love at first sight for him.
As the story progresses, Raj realises that his relationship with the daughter of a poor fisherman is not taken kindly by his eccentric father. Upon Raj's insistence, Mr. Nath visits Jack to initiate talks of Raj and Bobby's wedding. But instead, Mr. Nath accuses Jack of using his daughter's beauty and charm to trap Raj for his money. He even offers him cash in exchange for Bobby. Jack feels highly humiliated by this accusation and reciprocates by insulting Mr. Nath. Their talk enters a deadlock and spells doom for Raj and Bobby's tender love.

Mr. Nath engages Raj to a rich but mentally challenged girl, Alka, played by
Farida Jalal, in order to establish business ties with her father.
But Raj runs away from home, to unite with Bobby. They both run away together. Mr. Nath advertises a reward for anyone who can help find his son. Prem Chopra (Prem Chopra) decides that he wants the money, and he and his goons kidnap Raj and Bobby. When they try to escape, Prem starts beating Raj, and Jack tries to rescue him. Mr. Nath and the police come to help. Raj and Bobby run away and jump into the waterfall. Both Mr. Nath and Jack jump into the water.
Mr. Nath rescues Bobby, while Jack rescues Raj. They realize that they love their children very much and don't want to stand in their happiness. They accept each other's kids as their own and give their blessings to the union.
(the best part of the film...happy ending)

Forever young, forever classic!, 16 August 2009

Author: Peter Young from Australia


Raj Kapoor's "Bobby" will never get old. It is a brilliantly made modern teenage romance. Raj Kapoor's direction and imagination are excellent, ditto for his realistic portrayal of the modern 1970s India. The romance is portrayed beautifully, injecting many youthful energies and using colourful and vernal landscapes, beautiful and romantic songs, comedy and drama, and two very charming and good-looking young actors.This is a love story of a pretty, smart and headstrong school-girl named Bobby, and a romantic, rich and well-mannered young man named Raj, who, unlike most of his contemporaries, prefers to sit at home and write poetry. He falls in love with her the first minute he meets her, and surprisingly enough, it does not look clichéd. The story shows how they start dating each other and how they later fight parental opposition. Interestingly, while Raj Kapoor made this film to launch his son on the big screen, he titled it after Dimple Kapadia, who impressed him very much and reminded him of his muse Nargis. In a documentary about the life and craft of Raj Kapoor, he said that Bobby's first meeting with Raj in the film was loosely inspired by Kapoor's first meeting with Nargis at her home. And I completely understand why the memory of meeting her stayed with him for the rest of his life when I see this scene. It is a magic moment.Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia make for a very good couple. This is according to me Rishi Kapoor's best performance along with his role in Mera Naam Joker. Maybe his dad was the one who could extract his talent to the fullest. He is likable, impressive and very convincing as Raj. Dimple Kapadia's is undoubtedly one of the greatest debuts in the history of Hindi cinema. She was natural, compelling, beautiful and acted with total aplomb. Her western outfits and sex-appeal are still very memorable. The rest of the cast is excellent, with Prem Nath standing out in a wonderful comic act as Bobby's loving father. Pran was also very convincing as Raj's witty, proud and dignified father, and Durga Khote and Aruna Irani provided fantastic support. Oh, and how can one forget Farida Jalal's Alka Sharma? A five-minute role which stays with you forever just like the film.The film's cinematography is fantastic, the editing is good as well. The characters are well-written, and most importantly - the music is simply outstanding. My favourite songs are "Main Shair To Nahin" (as is Aruna Irani's wonderful dance for the song) and "Chabi Kho Jaye (Hum Tum)". All in all, Bobby was a trend-setter, and it still remains an all-time sensational and fresh love story, which will never look dated.

According to stories from my parents, in the 1970s, many Malaysian were interested in hindi film. A great film like this ( Bobby) can run continuously for 3 months .. 3 months? oh really ?.Perhap one of the reason is the lack of entertainment at that time. The majority of Malaysians at that time was still in the poverty level, without modern facilities like we have today . It is common for that day peoples live without electricity at home and almost without a television set in the living room of each house.

Until today, I will still remember that beautiful moment. Although just occasional I had a chance to watch films in cinema, an experienced like this and many more during my childhood always makes me feel very grateful to my parents because the have educate and raise me perfectly despite the lack of proper facilities and wealth. Time have changed. My children who grow up in modern times will not fully understand my story ... this is the thing that distinguishes between past and present ....


B O B B Y 1973













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