Late actor Rishi Kapoor's bold scene in his debut film Bobby (1973), where he appears butt-naked while drying his hair, was considered quite daring for its time. Years later, in a recent interview, his co-star, veteran actress Aruna Irani revealed that she initially refused to shoot the scene due to feeling "shy."
In a candid conversation with Lehren Retro, Aruna recalled how the film's director and Rishi's father, Raj Kapoor, eventually convinced her to go ahead with the scene.
"I had said no initially. He comes out nude and dries out his hair with a towel. He gave that shot. I told Raj ji that I can't do it. He said, 'Don't look there naa, don't see wrong things, see right things'. I did it at last," Aruna shared.
She also revealed that Rishi Kapoor later confronted her about her discomfort during the shoot when they worked together again on another film.
"I was then working with Chintu ji in Ravi Malhotra's film. He said, 'Aruna ji, mujhe aapse ek baat poochni hai. You objected a lot in that scene, but nanga toh mujhe hona tha, aap kyun object kar rahe the (Aruna ji, I have to ask you something. I was the one who was naked in the shot, why were you objecting)?'" the actress recalled.
During the interview, Aruna also admitted that Rishi had a valid point. "I told him that I was feeling shy. I was thinking and getting restless to ask you that why you were feeling shy when I was the one naked in that scene. But, he was actually right," she concluded.
Bobby is a classic Bollywood romance which marked the debut of Rishi alongside actress Dimple Kapadia. The film tells the story of a rich boy and a poor girl who fall in love despite societal opposition. With its youthful charm, memorable music, and bold themes for the time, Bobby redefined romance in Hindi cinema.
Besides Aruna, it also starred Farida Jalal, Pran, Prem Chopra, Prem Nath, Jagdish Raj and Durga Khote among others.
