Bobby (1973)

The story of this film is built upon one of the most overplayed tropes in the movies - romance between a rich boy and a poor girl whose families do not want them together.  Yet Bobby, despite its hackneyed theme, was a giant hit in its time, introducing audiences to one of India's most beloved screen pairs, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia. 

Raja (Rishi Kapoor) was a troubled child whose jet-setting parents paid little attention to him, eventually exiling him to boarding school.  Upon returning home after graduation, he meets sixteen-year-old Bobby (Dimple Kapadia), the granddaughter of his former governess, and falls in love with her immediately.  After a joyful courtship, they decide to seek the blessing of their fathers.  But Raja's father Mr. Nath (Pran) is of the paranoid zillionaire mold, and is convinced that Bobby's fisherman father Jack has orchestrated a scheme to trap Raja in order to get access to his wealth.  Jack, in his turn, is gravely insulted by this supposition.  The result is that both fathers want the youngsters to have nothing to do with one another.  Several misunderstandings and one motorcycle-riding elopement later, Jack and Mr. Nath force the issue, and Raja and Bobby get set to demonstrate just how far they will go to defend their love. 

I suppose I can understand why Bobby was such a massive success upon its release - there is something inspiring about these fresh-faced kids standing up for the right of the younger generation to determine its own destiny.  But in the end I found myself taking only an intellectual interest in the film and its characters, without any emotional connection.  I felt I was watching it out of a sense of respect for its place in Bollywood history; I cannot honestly say I enjoyed it.  Dimple Kapadia was spunky and pretty, but too young and girlish yet to be a truly compelling heroine - she is far more interesting as an adult.  Rishi Kapoor came across as effete, sluggish, and weak, not at all the compact (even if pudgy) bundle of energy that he portrayed so adorably in Amar Akbar Anthony.  Pran, too, whose angry tycoon routine worked well in Amar Akbar Anthony's broadly comedic context, in Bobby was only cartoonish and grating.   

Bobby had a few strengths.  It features a beautiful, emotional soundtrack by Laxmikant-Pyarelal (the prolific team who also penned Amar Akbar Anthony's brilliant songs), which includes such evergreen hits as "Hum tum ek kamre mein bandh ho" and the beautiful "Main shayir to nahin."  There are even a couple of fun picturizations, notably "Jhoot bole kawa kaate" and "Ae phansa."  The latter, which I unfortunately cannot find on YouTube, was a real highlight of the film - it features hordes of dancers in trippy, nightmarish costumes that are highly evocative of the troubled mood Raja is in when the song is performed for him - he has just learned that his father has agreed to marry him to a mentally disturbed girl as part of a business transaction, and he is indeed feeling phansa - trapped.   "Ae phansa" is lusciously picturized on Aruna Irani, whose character is another of the film's highlights.  She is a seductive vamp who, though at first interested in Raja, ultimately develops sympathy for the young lovers and proves their only ally. 

Despite these enjoyable moments, though, I am sorry to say that on the whole I found Bobby dull and uncompelling.  For the sake of my continuing Bollywood education I am glad I took the time to see it - but that is hardly a ringing endorsement of a film. 

Comments

[Beth]

I mean to add these to my own post on Bobby - I too was interested in this movie's place in history, so when the Delhi-ite (that's not the right term, but it will do for now) who runs the shop where I rented this started to tell me about how popular it had been and how people bunked school to see it, I asked him if it had been at all controversial. He looked confused by my question and said not at all, but somehow that seems unlikely to me, given the young age and religious differences of the couple - and especialy their disregard for their parents. Have you read anything about that?

[carla]

Your review of Bobby was more thoughtful than mine, Beth. I'm glad I went back and re-read it just now. I didn't like the film enough to have deep insights about it without external prompting.

I haven't read anything about controversy with regard to Bobby but I suppose there must have been some mild controversy - maybe not picket-the-cinema controversy, but at least some tut-tutting on the part of parents who were uncomfortable with its message. Oh - but a friend of mine did once tell me that her Punjabi mother found "Hum tum ek kamre mein bandh ho" scandalous.

A very interesting point you raised - I wish I had thought of it - is what it means for Bobby to be a "21st century girl" as she put it. It clearly *doesn't* mean sexual emancipation, "Hum tum ek kamre mein" notwithstanding - her discomfort at the racy partner-swapping party and the contrast between her innocence and Aruna Irani's forthrightness (remember "I'm too old to marry you but I can certainly be your lover") makes that quite clear. And perhaps it is just that - the fact that Bobby can be spunky and modern without being sexually expressive - that tempers the otherwise bold message of the film.

[Beth]

Too funny - after I read your review, I thought my own was shallow and then began a spiral of thinking ALL of my reviews are shallow and then not knowing what to write. Anyway...I'm just glad we inspire each other.

I want to know about the tut-tutting. I want to know what the pharents of the Bobby-aged girls were thinking. And I'm glad that "modern" doesn't necessarily include being sexually adventurous when we're talking about a 16-year-old girl. Not that I'm all for prudishness, but I think Bobby could get to a lot of that a little later. I do find it cool that the sexually predatory older woman - is an ally to the couple; even though she has some fairly shocking and publicly-frowned-upon-even-if-privately-coveted traits, she gets to be a bit of a hero. That was a nice touch and does, I think, add something about sexual liberation to the mvoie's notion of "modern."

Then again, what do I know about social norms in India in the 1970s? Nothing.

[carla]

If I get a chance, I will ask my teacher, who I think would have been an approximately Bobby-aged girl in 1973, what she thought of the film, what her parents thought, and what the prevailing reactions were. That will at least give us something of a data point.

Beth, have you seen *Jewel Thief*? If not, I highly recommend it - not just because it is a delightful film, but also for what it has to say about modernity and female sexuality.

I am also glad we inspire one another!

[Beth]

I'll definitely watch Jewel Thief. What Bollywood says about women's sexuality is one of my favorite threads to think about and try to piece together. There was a great blog by a Bollywood screenwriter who talked about that a little bit but alas she's had to take her site down (and I eagerly await its return).

[Darshana]

From what I have picked up here and there, I am pretty sure that Bobby is famous for being Bollywood's first "teen-age" love story. It's one of the jewels in the crown of Raj Kapoor, father of Rishi, its hero, in his role in Hindi cinema as great showman - he caught this wave perfectly.

Rishi and Dimple Kapadia star again in two more movies much later on in their lives - one I can't recall, and one is Pyaar Mein Twist, also attempting to be ground-breaking in depicting romance between people who seem to be over 50.

[HemaAsha]

'Bobby', considered by many to be the first "teenage love story". It truly is a treat for the eye! Rishi Kapoor (being one of my all time favorite actors) and newcomer Dimple Kapadia did justice to their roles. They were excellent in every single role and brought a larger-than-life persona to the screen. Being one of Raj Kapoor's productions, one would already know that the film would be impeccable, proving themselves to be correct.
The songs to this film were just too great for words to capture and the soundtrack is conisidered by me to be one of the best, out of the numerous Bollywood films that I've watched my entire life. 'Hum tum ek kamre' and 'Ae Phansa' (a real fiesty song by Aruna Irani' are my favorite out of the list. 'Main shayer to nahin', 'Jhoot bole kauve kate', 'Mujhe kuch kehna hai', and 'Na Chaahoon Sona Chandni' really brought out Lata's (my favorite female playback singer) and Shailendra Singh's (one of my favorite male playback singers, along with Mukesh) talent.

[paulo pereira]

how can i dowload this film?

where?

please is very very urgent

thanks

[yogi]

bobby room weare