Bobby (1973)

Mr. Nath lives a very wealthy lifestyle in India along with his wife, Sushma, and a 6 year old son, Raj. Both he and Sushma lead a very busy life, so much so that they have no quality time ... See full summary »

Director:

Raj Kapoor

Writers:

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (screenplay) (as K.A. Abbas), Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (story) (as K.A. Abbas)

Stars:

Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Pran

5 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rishi Kapoor	...	Raja
Dimple Kapadia	...	Bobby J. Braganza
Pran	...	Mr. Nath
Prem Nath	...	Jack Braganza
Sonia Sahni	...	Mrs. Sushma Nath
Durga Khote	...	Mrs. Braganza
Aruna Irani	...	Nima
Prem Chopra	...	Prem Chopra
Farida Jalal	...	Alka 'Nikki' Sharma
Piloo J. Wadia	...	Mrs. Pestonji (as Mrs. Piloo Wadia)
Pinchoo Kapoor	...	Mr. Sharma
Jagdish Raj	...	Police Inspector
Shashi Kiran	...	Shyam (Raj's college-mate)
Raj Rani	...	Mrs. Sharma
Aarti	...	(as Arti)

Storyline

Mr. Nath lives a very wealthy lifestyle in India along with his wife, Sushma, and a 6 year old son, Raj. Both he and Sushma lead a very busy life, so much so that they have no quality time to spend with Raj, leaving his care, even breast-feeding, to their maidservant, Mrs. Braganza, who Raj regards as his mother. When Mr. Nath finds Raj to be precocious, he has him enrolled in a distant boarding school. When Raj returns after 12 years, he does not find any change, save that Mrs. Braganza does not work there anymore as she has been fired by Sushma. At his 18th birthday party, he meets with flirtatious Nima, and this is when he sets his eyes on Bobby, Mrs. Braganza's 16 year old granddaughter, and falls head over heels in love with her. To his delight he finds that she also loves him, much to the chagrin of his parents, who agree to meet with Bobby's dad, Jack, and Mrs. Braganza, but humiliate them. This does not deter Raj and Bobby and they continue to meet, so much so that Mr. Nath ...

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Plot Keywords:

fisherman | birthday party | famous line | famous song | actor shares full name with character | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

28 September 1973 (India)

Also Known As:

Bobi - ljubezenska zgodba na indijski nacin

Filming Locations:

R.K. Studios, Chembur, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

R.K. Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

168 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Raj Kapoor offered the film to Baby Farida (Farida Dadi) but she refused the role.

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Connections

Referenced in Maradona (2018)

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Soundtracks

Ankhiyon Ko Rahne De
Music by Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (as Laxmikant Pyarelal), Lyrics by Anand Bakshi
Sung by Lata Mangeshkar

User Reviews

Forever young, forever classic!

Raj Kapoor's "Bobby" will never get old. It is a brilliantly made modern teen romance. Raj Kapoor's direction and imagination are excellent, ditto for his realistic portrayal of the modern 1970s India and its middle-class Christian community. The romance is portrayed beautifully, injected with many youthful energies and further aided by colourful and vernal locations, beautiful romantic songs, comedy and drama, and two very charming fresh talents in the lead roles.

This is the love story of a pretty, smart and headstrong Christian 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 are 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 effective, the editing is good as well, and the art direction is fantastic. 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.