Did Bhansali Keep Rishi Kapoor  In The Dark About Ranbir’s Debut Film?

In  his memoirs, Rishi Kapoor has  grumbled about Bhansali  being tightlipped  about the  content  of Saawariya.  I don’t know  about  Rishiji, but I  was allowed  to see parts  of Saawariya long before  its release.

I was mesmerized. I was also allowed to  watch  the  film’s shooting in Karjat once when  SLB was shooting the  song Haan meri jaan  ho tum. Ranbir was getting all  his cues  right  in one take  while Sonam  was  having difficulties with  her shots. The song  took the whole  day to shoot. But what  struck me was Ranbir’s  selfconfidenc.  He  knew what  to do  and did it  right in the first take.

His anxious father  would  ask about his son. “I heard  you  attended the shooting today, what was  Ranbir like?”  or  “I believe  he was  with you and Bhansali. Did you speak to him?”

When the  film was  completed Rishi  refused to  watch it before the  premiere night. I was  the  first to watch it and  Ranbir’s   mom Neetu was with me, She had  forgotten her glasses at home , so she literally read the screen standing inches away  from it to be  able to see the  film.

After  the  film Rishiji asked., “How was my son?”  I told him  he was a star.

“Haan tu toh aisa bolega hi.Bhansali ka dost  hai, aur  mera bhi,” Rishi shot back.

We  met again at the  film’s premiere and Rishiji  looked  uncertain about the  film. Saawariya was uncharted  territory.And so not easy to slot.Today  in hindsight it appears  to be  afilm well ahead  of its time.