‘Became A Battle Between Two Schools Of Acting’

Rishi Kapoor worked only once with Manoj Kumar. And that didn’t go too well.

The film was Manoj Kumar’s Jai Hind, the writer-producer-director-lyricist’s last film, and differences between Rishi and Manoj Kumar cropped up on Day 1 of shooting, so much so that Rishi would have walked out of the film if a mutual friend had not intervened.

Rishi had shared this experience with me in an interview. “I had problems with the shooting style in Manoj Kumar’s Jai Hind. The first scene required me to do a 12-page scene in one shot. And he wanted me to move all across the frame while saying those lines. I asked him why was I shuffling all over the place. There is a difference between a play and a film. It became a battle between two schools of acting.”

But the situation was all sorted. “That evening Mr Manoj Kumar called up our mutual friend Prem Chopra. Things were sorted out. From the next day Mr Manoj Kumar first asked me how I want to do a shot and then set up the camera.”

Rishi Kapoor is not the only actor Manoj Kumar has a problem with. Asha Parekh during Upkaar, Jaya Bhaduri (Bachchan) during Shor, Moushumi Chatterjee during Roti Kapada Aur Makaan and Hema Malini during Kranti were some others actors Manoj Kumar had a problem with.

But yes, Rishi was the only male actor Manoj had a problem with. Manoj and Rishi had come face-to-face when Rishi was 14 in Mera Naam Joker where Manoj had stolen Simi Garewal from the besotted adolescent Rishi.