When Suchitra Sen Got Upset With Dev Anand

‘Suchitra
Sen
threatened
to
leave,
with
the
film
only
80
per
cent
complete.’

Raj
Khosla
made
several
blockbusters
like CID
(1956),

Woh
Kaun
Thi?
(1964),

Mera
Saaya
(1966),

Mera
Gaon
Mera
Desh
(1971),

Dostana
(1980)
and

Main
Tulsi
Tere
Aangan
Ki
(1978).

On
his
birth
centenary
on
May
31,
his
daughters
Anita
Khosla
and
Uma
Khosla
Kapur,
along
with
writer
Amborish
Roychoudhury,
released
a
book
on
the
filmmaker,

Raj
Khosla:
The
Authorized
Biography.

Presenting
a
fascinating
excerpt
from

Raj
Khosla:
The
Authorized
Biography:

The
role
of
Maya,
the
lead
heroine,
was
first
offered
to
Madhubala.
Raj
had
just
worked
with
her
on

Kala
Pani,
and
she
seemed
the
perfect
choice
for
the
role.

Kala
Pani
was,
after
all,
a
grand
success
and
there
may
have
been
that
wish
to
replicate
its
success.
Some
early
posters
of

Bombai
Ka
Babu
still
survive
with
Madhubala
in
them.

One
of
them
announces
the
upcoming
attraction:
‘Raj
Khosla
and
Jal
Mistry
present
Dev
Anand,
Madhubala…
He
lost
a
world
but
found
a
home…!
Raj
Khosla’s

Bombai
ka
Babu‘

The
poster
shows
a
distressed
Madhubala,
with
Dev
Anand
sprawled
on
a
globe.

Another
poster
features
a
happier
Madhubala
with
Dev
looking
all
menacing,
wielding
a
stick.

But
Madhubala’s
health
was
worsening
every
day.
She
had
started
turning
down
offers.
One
of
the
major
projects
that
she
had
to
decline
was

Bombai
ka
Babu.

‘I
think
she
had
a
premonition
of
the
illness
that
was
to
interrupt
her
shining
career,’
Raj
wrote.

‘I
was
about
to
sign
her
for

Bombai
Ka
Babu
when
she
said,
friendly
as
ever,
but
with
a
touch
of
sadness
in
her
voice,
‘I
think
you
had
better
take
someone
else
for
your
own
good.’

In
her
place
came
Suchitra
Sen,
the
reigning
superstar
of
Bengali
films.
Bengali
cinema
at
this
time
was
going
through
a
veritable
golden
era.

In
the
1950s,
Uttam
Kumar
and
Sen
were
the
king
and
queen
ruling
benevolently
over
their
subjects,
the
Bengali-speaking
audience.

The
kind
of
popularity
the
Uttam-Suchitra
duo
was
experiencing
was
unparalleled.

Even
the
big
stars
of
the
Hindi
film
industry
didn’t
enjoy
that
kind
of
euphoria
in
Bengal.
Having
said
that,
Suchitra
Sen
was
building
a
career
quite
her
own,
distinct
from
the
pair.

Her
first
Hindi
outing
had
been
Bimal
Roy’s

Devdas
(1955),
where
her
depiction
of
Paro
met
with
acclaim
from
audiences,
her
co-stars
and
critics.

This
was
followed
by
a
role
in
Hrishikesh
Mukherjee’s
debut

Musafir
(1957)
and
Nandlal
Jaswantlal’s

Champakali
(1957).

Bombai
Ka
Babu
was
Sen’s
fourth
film
in
Hindi.
Jal
Mistry
was
the
cinematographer
for

Champakali,
so
he
may
have
been
instrumental
in
her
selection
for
the
role.

Raj
Khosla,
like
everyone
else,
was
only
too
familiar
with
her
stardom
in
Bengal.
Also,
her
success
in

Devdas
could
have
been
a
deciding
factor.

Suchitra
Sen,
one
would
argue,
pulled
off
the
role
of
Maya
with
aplomb.

One
might
consider
the
fact
that
in
an
era
where
impeccable
diction
in
Hindustani
and
Urdu
was
not
only
expected
but
demanded,
it
is
to
her
credit
that
she
manages
to
seem
convincing
despite
butchering
entire
words.

Besides,
she
dances
with
abandon
and
much
verve
—
despite
the
fact
that
the
Bengali
film
industry
that
she
was
part
of
didn’t
have
dance
sequences
at
all.

In
fact,
dance
was
such
anathema
to
Bengali
pop
culture
that
one
would
struggle
to
find
instances
of
any
classic
Bengali
actor
indulging
in
a
dance
sequence
(with
the
rare
exception
when
they
were
playing
courtesans
or
breaking
into
a
twist
to
underscore
‘modernity’).

Sen
had
never
had
to
dance
in
a
Bengali
film
till
then,
but
as
she
swung
to
the
beats
of
the
Punjabi
dholak
in

Dekhne
Mein
Bhola
Hai,
she
didn’t
seem
like
she
had
two
left
feet.

Raj
later
said
about
her,
‘She
is
in
total
command
of
her
art,
a
very
emotional
artiste.
Possibly,
the
secret
of
her
success
is
her
meticulous
attention
to
detail.’

In
portraying
a
character
she
looks
for
the
details
that
make
a
character
come
out
as
real.
Yet,
in
this
film,
too,
Raj
locked
horns
on
occasion
with
his
leading
lady.

According
to
him,
most
of
the
crowd
at
Kullu
—
where
they
were
shooting
—
gravitated
towards
Dev
Anand,
and
that
would
unnerve
Sen,
who
was
used
to
being
the
cynosure
of
all
eyes
wherever
she
shot
in
Bengal.

What
further
intensified
her
annoyance
was
that
Raj
and
his
crew
got
into
a
celebratory
mood
when
Dev
Anand
was
to
leave.

The
actor
had
finished
his
portion
of
the
shoot
and
planned
to
leave
for
Bombay.

The
team
decided
to
throw
a
party.
The
revelries
went
on
till
the
dead
of
night,
with
local

dholaks
and
musicians
adding
to
celebrations.

This
disturbed
the
sleep
of
the
Bengali
superstar
and
her
husband,
who
was
also
with
her
during
the
shoot.
Her
husband
asked
them
to
stop
the
noise.

This
snowballed
into
a
big
fight,
and
Suchitra
Sen
threatened
to
leave,
with
the
film
only
80
per
cent
complete.

Not
one
to
give
in,
Raj
Khosla
said
that
she
was
free
to
go,
but
the
party
would
continue.
Sen
left.

The
wedding
portions
were
left
to
be
done,
so
Raj
Khosla
decided
to
use
a
body
double.

Halfway
through
the
shoot,
Sen
was
back
on
the
sets,
and
quipped,
‘You
think
she
can
act
better
than
me?’

She
eventually
completed
the
shoot.

But
another
version
of
this
incident
exists.
Actor
Sanjeev
Kumar
had
once
recounted
the
incident
differently:
‘The
crew
of

Bombai
Ka
Babu
had
gathered
at
a
hotel
to
celebrate
a
colleague’s
birthday.
Coincidentally,
they
chose
the
same
hotel
where
Sen
was
putting
up
with
her
husband.’

The
couple
couldn’t
sleep
and
Suchitra
Sen
went
straight
to
the
manager,
expecting
intervention.

The
manager
was
non-committal,
too
scared
to
ruffle
feathers,
and
the
lady
decided
to
confront
the
revellers
herself.

Raj
was
there
and
became
the
target
of
her
consternation.
She
may
have
been
a
little
harsh
in
her
demeanour.
Offended,
Raj
asked
her
to
leave.

Many
did
their
best
to
patch
things
up
between
the
actress
and
the
director,
but
neither
would
budge.

Things
took
a
turn
for
the
worse
when
Sen
filed
a
case
against
Khosla
for
not
clearing
her
pending
fee
and
Khosla
retaliated
by
filing
a
counter-complaint
at
the
Producers’
Association
against
Sen
for
leaving
the
project
incomplete.

The
judgement
passed
was
in
Khosla’s
favour
and
Sen
was
asked
to
complete
the
movie
before
claiming
her
due
amount.
Sen
complied
and
the
movie
was
completed.

Excerpted
from

Raj
Khosla:
The
Authorized
Biography
written
by
Amborish
Roychoudhury,
Anita
Khosla
and
Uma
Khosla
Kapur,
with
the
kind
permission
of
the
publishers,
Hachette
India.