Rishi Kapoor worked only once with Manoj Kumar—and that collaboration didn’t go too well. The film in question was Jai Hind, Manoj Kumar’s final directorial venture, where he took on the roles of writer, producer, director, and lyricist. Unfortunately, tensions between Rishi Kapoor and Manoj Kumar flared up right on the first day of shooting, to the point where Rishi nearly walked off the set. The situation was salvaged only after a mutual friend intervened.
When Rishi Kapoor nearly walked out on Manoj Kumar’s Jai Hind
Rishi Kapoor had once shared this experience with me during an interview. “I had problems with the shooting style in Manoj Kumar’s Jai Hind. The first scene required me to perform 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 I was shuffling all over the place. There is a difference between a play and a film. It became a battle between two schools of acting.”
However, the issue was resolved later that day. “That evening, Mr. Manoj Kumar called up our mutual friend, Prem Chopra. Things were sorted out. From the next day onwards, Mr. Manoj Kumar would first ask me how I wanted to do a shot and then set up the camera accordingly.”
Interestingly, Rishi Kapoor was not the only actor who found Manoj Kumar’s working style challenging. Asha Parekh during Upkaar, Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan) during Shor, Moushumi Chatterjee in Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, and Hema Malini during Kranti also reportedly had their share of differences with the filmmaker.
However, Rishi remains the only male actor known to have had such a clash with Manoj Kumar. Their paths had crossed even earlier—when Rishi was just 14 years old—during the making of Mera Naam Joker, where Manoj Kumar’s character stole away Simi Garewal from the lovestruck adolescent played by Rishi.
Also Read: Throwback: When Manoj Kumar spills secrets of Woh Kaun Thi
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