Veteran actor Prem Chopra has opened up about the struggles of legends like Raj Kapoor, K Asif and Dilip Kumar, who went to any extent to ensure that their films were not only made the way they had envisioned them but didn’t give up on their art despite failures and setbacks.
In an interview with Zoom, Chopra said, “K Asif toh fakir aadmi the,” adding that Mughal-E-Azam cost the late filmmaker a fortune and took almost 16 years to complete. “They don’t make filmmakers like them anymore. For him, abandoning the idea of making Mughal-E-Azam, which took him so long to make and was faced with numerous challenges during its filming, was unimaginable. Unme film bannane ka junoon aisa that ki agar sab kuch bik bhi gaya tha ghar pe bachi aakhi kameez bhi leyange film ko poori karne ke liye (He was passionate about making the film that despite its process burning a hole in his pocket as well as his resources getting exhausted, he wouldn’t give up even if it meant bringing the last piece of cloth from home to use on the set),” the veteran actor recalled.
Prem Chopra, who worked in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby, called Raj and Asif “geniuses” and recalled the time when the former went bankrupt while making the ‘disastrous’ Mera Naam Joker, now considered a cult film. “Raj Kapoor was finished! Unka sab kuch bik gaya (He was compelled to sell everything he had). Mera Naam Joker failed miserably at the box office. Raj saab was under a tremendous financial crisis. He not only mortgaged RK Studios but also had to sell off his family properties, but he didn’t give up on his love for filmmaking,” added the 88-year-old actor.
Following the Mera Naam Joker debacle, Raj cast Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in Bobby, a decision many considered risky at that time. Chopra recalled, “He had the vision. He made this beautiful film (Bobby) which I was also part of. It went on to become a massive success and two new stars were born — Rishi and Dimple. However, during the making of Bobby, it didn’t feel he had encountered such a massive failure and continued making it with an equal amount of passion and love.”
Prem Chopra, known for playing negative characters in films like Prem Nagar, Do Raaste, Upkar, Do Anjaane among others, laments that despite Mera Naam Joker being a marvelous film, it did not do well and people didn’t appreciate it. “Today, it is counted among the best films that Indian cinema has ever produced. It has attained a cult status, but unfortunately, back then, it was way ahead of its time and people couldn’t comprehend it or resonate with it. It was quite modern and fine piece of art which didn’t receive the success it deserved,” Chopra concluded.
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