All My Heroines: Rishi Kapoor Co-Starred With  The Maximum Debutantes(None Succeeded)

“I’ve worked with  more new girls than my uncle Shammi Kapoor,”  Rishi once  observed, and he wasn’t wrong. Except for the fact that  Shammi’s heroines  from Asha Parekh in  Dil Deke Dekho  to  Sharmila Tagore in Kashmir Ki Kali to  Saira Banu in Junglee went on to become  big stars.Bizarrely none of  the  debutantes  that  Rishi introduced to the screen had a durable career.

1. Dimple Kapadia in Bobby: Technically  Rishi Kapoor’s first heroine was Simi Garewal in Mera Naam Joker. Dimple was his first romantic lead  in Bobby. She quit and returned 13 years  later.
2. Naseem  in  Kabhi Kabhie : Though his steady co-star Neetu Singh partnered  Rishi  through all the romantic songs , a debutante named Naseem who played Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter  was Rishi’s other co-star She  was  never seen  after this  film.
3. Kajal Kirron in Hum Kissi Se  Kam Nahin:  She  was  introduced with much fanfare  by filmmaker Nasir  Husain as  the new sensation in town. She was  styled  in the best clothes, given  the  best song and  paired with  Rishi  Kapoor. But nothing happened to her career.
4. Shoma Anand  in Barood:  Pramod Chakravarty  was determined  to make  his discovery  a star.  So he signed  the biggest  romantic hero after Rajesh Khanna  opposite Shoma and launched her in Barood. It fizzled  out.  Shoma  was re-launched by her godfather  in Patita.  But nothing worked. She  moved to television
5. Zeba Bhaktiar in Henna: Like Dimple in Bobby,Raj Kapoor made Henna to  highlight the  female protagonist’s role. Rishi was secondary.  After a  dream launch  Zeba simply vanished into her  home  country  Pakistan.
6. Divya Bharti in Deewana:  She  hit the  hot spot , the first Rishi Kapoor heroine to do so .But her  stardom was  shortlived  as  she died suddenly. And besides, Deewana also had Shah Rukh Khan to give Divya company.
7. Jaya Prada in Sargam: Not  quite  a debutant ,  Jaya had  already done  films in the  South. Her Hindi debut  with  Rishi was a  smash hit. But somehow  Jaya’s career in Hindi cinema always  remained  eclipsed  by Sridevi.