By: Roshmila Bhattacharya

Raj Kapoor was all of 22-years-old. And ready to launch himself as a director with his first film, Aag. The film was ready to go on the floors and Raj was determined to get himself the best studio in town. Famous Studio in Mumbai's central suburb, Mahalaxmi, had been highly recommended to him. The perfectionist Raj wanted to be sure it was as good as it was being made out to be. He'd heard that Jaddan Bai was at Famous Studio where her son Akhtar Hussain was shooting Romeo and Juliet, the first production of Nargis Art Concern. Raj rushed to the studio to meet bibiji with the intention of quizzing her about the facilities that Famous offered. But he missed her by minutes. The unit, he was told, had packed up for the day and gone home.

Raj impulsively decided he'd drive on to Marine Drive where Jaddan Bai had her apartment. A quarter of an hour later he was outside her door ringing the bell. Jaddan Bai's eighteen-year-old daughter Nargis was in the kitchen frying bhajias. Hearing the doorbell peal she rushed to open the door and was so startled by the sight of a blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked stranger shuffling outside her door, that she put a hand nervously up to brush away her untidy locks and smeared her forehead with the besan dough on her fingers. Raj was enchanted by the image of this lovely girl with besan on her forehead and hair. The crimson blush staining her cheeks as she realized what had happened, enhanced the pretty picture. Stammering with embarrassment Nargis asked him shyly who he was. Raj introduced himself as Prithviraj Kapoor's son. Nargis recalled seeing him in the play, Deewar, at Prithvi Theatre and invited him in. But when Raj enquired about bibiji and learnt that Nargis was at home alone he refused to enter the apartment and hurried away.

He went straight to the home of his scriptwriter, Inder Raj Anand. "I must have that girl in my film. Write her into the screenplay of Aag," he commanded. And Nargis walked into Aag in the ninth reel. The memory of his first meeting with Nargis stayed with Raj all his life. And when he was writing Bobby he dredged it up for Bobby's (Dimple Kapadia) first meeting with Raj (Rishi Kapoor). The only difference was that Bobby wasn't frying bhajias, she was baking a cake and smeared her hair with maida rather than besan. But it didn't dim the enchantment for the young Raj. Who fell head-over-heels-in-love with her... again.

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