Prem Nath’s son Monty shared how his late father’s suggestion made Raj Kapoor change the ‘tragic’ climax of Bobby.
After the failure of his ambitious film Mera Naam Joker (1970) and Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971), Raj Kapoor made Bobby as a gamble to recover his losses. He launched his 20-year-old son Rishi Kapoor in it alongside Dimple Kapadia. The watershed romance turned out to be a game changer for Raj Kapoor’s banner RK Films.
Set against the backdrop of rich versus poor clash, the love story turned out to be a huge blockbuster and is considered as a cult classic. While Bobby‘s happy ending left the audience smiling, you would be surprised to know that Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia’s characters (Raj and Bobby) were supposed to die in the original climax!
However, the film’s director Raj Kapoor choose to end the film on a happy note and the reason for this is Prem Nath who played the role of Bobby’s father Jack in the movie.
In a recent interview with Vicky Lalwani, Prem Nath’s son Monty recalled how his late father’s suggestion led to Raj Kapoor changing the climax of the film.
He shared, “Bobby was basically a love story and like all love stories, Laila Majnu, Romeo Juliet, they both were to die. In the original script, Rishi and Dimple’s characters go up on the hill and then jump into the water, and they die. That was the original script.”
Revealing that the script was intact until the point where the two characters reach the script, he continued, “The change happened after that jump. My father suggested that don’t keep it as a sad ending. Make it a happy ending. Let my character save Chintu and let Pran Saab save Dimple. They both swim into the water and save the kids. And in the end, there is a reunion on a happy note.”
Monty said that after making this suggestion, his father asked Raj Kapoor to make his decision as he was the captain of the ship. Prem Nath told Kapoor, “You shoot it and keep it, we are already on location. The actors are here. Rest, you take a call while editing.”
Raj Kapoor agreed with Prem Nath’s suggestion and it worked wonders for Bobby. Not just the film, even the songs of this romantic film became a rage. Even today, Bobby is considered to be one of Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia’s most memorable acts on screen.
