Nargis endured beatings from her brother, lost opportunities and money because Raj Kapoor kept her on the hook for 10 years

Indian Express

3 days ago

'Voh kisi pari se kam nahi thi (She was no less than an angel).' When Raj Kapoor first saw Nargis, time stood still. Music played in the background and even the most mundane things done by her in that moment, like moving her hair out of her face, became cinematic and romantic for him. Raj was just 22 then, and Nargis was 16 but he had fallen in love. 'I must have this girl in my film,' he thought and insisted that Nargis become a part of the first picture of RK Films, Aag (1948). The association between the two lasted for almost a decade but what started as a professional relationship turned into love even before they could put a label on it. The ill-fated romance did not have a future as Raj was already married to Krishna Raj Kapoor, and Nargis' family was vehemently against her relationship with him. So much so that her brother Akhtar even beat her up repeatedly for being with him, but Nargis was a woman in love who put her career on hold, let go of a lot of money and opportunities, just so she could be around Raj. It wasn't until Chori Chori (1956) that Nargis realised that this relationship had to end for her own good but until then, she was a woman who loved without any expectations.
When Raj decided to cast Nargis in Aag as one of the three leading women, she had already been working as a leading heroine for a few years, but Raj was yet to establish himself. So he approached Jaddanbai, Nargis' mom, and offered to pay Rs 5,000 as her fees. But Nargis' brother renegotiated the deal because he knew that her sister was a star in the making, and got Raj to pay her Rs 40,000. This first exchange of money between them was the only time when Nargis signed on a project with Raj after some kind of negotiation because from here on, she worked with him for love. While she was paid for her work, it was nowhere close to what she would have made otherwise. Raj gave her opportunities but he didn't pay her her worth. Her generosity and love for Raj had her making some special adjustments for his films, which included ignoring work that did not include him, either as a co-star or a producer, and as a result of this, the finances of her family suffered badly.
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Aag launched Raj as a director. The plot of the film had him playing a man who intentionally disfigures his face by lighting it on fire because he wants to make a big gesture of sacrifice for his best friend, in trying to give up the woman he loves. But, he also ends up burning down his dreams in the form of his theatre. The plot of the film sounds childish and immature, but what else can one expect out of a 22-year-old? Aag starred three female actors but it was Raj and Nargis' on screen chemistry that left an impact. The film did not do as well as expected but Raj and Nargis had found each other as work partners and they were certain that this was a relationship for the keeps. Around this time, he started working on his next film Barsaat, and here too, he decided to cast Nargis. By this time, they were inseparable. Jaddanbai, of course, did not approve of their association so she tried to do her best to keep them apart. Around the same time, Raj and Nargis also shot for Mehboob Khan's Andaz.
Professionally, both these films were quite pivotal in their careers. Barsaat established Raj Kapoor as a successful filmmaker, this was also the film that gave RK Films its iconic logo. And for Nargis, Andaz became the film that was considered to be her breakthrough role. Andaz also starred Dilip Kumar along with the duo and was a complex tale of relationships, directed by Mehboob Khan. For Barsaat, Raj wanted to take Nargis to Kashmir but Jaddanbai was strictly against the two travelling without any supervision so she refused to send Nargis. Instead, Raj took some exterior shots in Kashmir and travelled with Nargis and his unit to Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani so they could film some cheat shots. Here, Nargis was accompanied by her brothers Anwar and Akhtar and it became a game for Raj and Nargis to sneak out every day without getting caught by her brothers. Actor Nimmi became their collaborator in this game of hide and seek.
Barsaat was Nimmi's debut film and Nargis had taken her under her wing. In the book, 'Darlingji: The True Love Story Of Nargis & Sunil Dutt' by Kishwar Desai, Nimmi shared that she and Nargis would sneak out of the hotel on the pretext of taking a walk and Raj would be waiting for them in his car up on the road. 'Nargis and Raj would put me in the backseat, put three-four overcoats on me and make me go to sleep, and say, 'Don't wake up'. And we would be there for hours, or we would go for a drive, and I could hear everything that they were saying. They would say, 'Nimmi, go to sleep'. But it was fun. They fought quite often and then would stop talking to each other,' she said and added that they would patch up just as easily.
Nargis lost her father Mohan Babu when she was filming for Andaz, and by the time she finished Barsaat, Jaddanbai had passed away. Her time of grief brought them closer to each other and Raj stood by her all through this. The foundation of Nargis' family was shaken up after Jaddanbai's death and the financial responsibility of her siblings and their families now rested on her shoulders. Since Nargis became the sole provider for the entire family, it became more than necessary for her to pick up projects that aided them with their finances. The 1950s were not like the 2000s where actors are paid unheard of amounts for acting in films so even a hit star needed consecutive hits to maintain their lifestyle and pay for the family's expenses.
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After her mother's passing, Nargis' brother Akhtar became her manager and started negotiating on her behalf. He believed that her association with Raj was a loss making deal – both financially and emotionally. He knew that a married man like Raj would never leave his wife, and Nargis was wasting her time on him. He also felt that because of her association with him, she was losing opportunities in the film industry as others believed that she belonged to the 'RK camp'. Worse of all, Raj wasn't paying her nearly as much as she deserved, and led her into believing that she was a part of RK Films, even though nothing of this sort was ever formalised on paper.
In a 1981 interview with Super magazine, Akhtar was quoted as admitting that Nargis' earnings fed the whole family but he insisted that he 'did not exploit her.' Talking about Raj and her association, he said, 'In fact, when Raj insisted on her giving up all other films except RK's I deferred to her wishes. Raj had told her, 'We will work together and build up RK Studio. You shouldn't expect payment from RK because I've made you a partner in the studio'. However, he didn't make it official. On the other hand, he stage-managed a contract which Baby (Nargis) asked me to sign, saying I should not object to her association with RK, in return for which I would be paid Rs 4,000 every month. I hated accepting the money but Baby insisted on it for my wife and children's sake.'
Akhtar implied that Raj did not want Nargis to work with any other filmmaker, and limit her work opportunities. She was blinded by love, and complied. In fact, it was famously known that Raj's interference with her work led to her getting fired from Mehboob Khan's Aan, which also starred Dilip Kumar. Mehboob wanted a bulk of Nargis' dates but Raj wouldn't let her. Mehbbob, who later worked with her in Mother India, fired Nargis after the muhurat and cast Nadira in her place.
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Akhtar, like Jaddanbai, did not approve of Nargis' association with Raj as well and on more than one occasion, he beat her up, thinking that this would put an end to the affair. Zahida Hussain, Akhtar's daughter, shared with Desai, that she saw her father beat up Nargis. 'I have literally seen my father beat up his sister over Raj Kapoor. There would be violent fights because of him, there was no other reason for them to fight except him. And the love that lady had in her heart for Raj Kapoor was tremendous. It was not easy for her. Here at home she had to face the wrath of her brother, go to the studios and work, and go through whatever she would go through,' she said.
Late actor Shammi, who was close to Nargis and her mother, also shared that Akhtar would beat up Nargis because of her association with Raj. She insisted that her house made her 'unhappy' so she spent all day outside working. 'Akhtar used to beat her, and I would only look at her and ask, 'Did he do it again?' And she would say, 'Yes.' Raj Kapoor and she were working together, he was a very intelligent man, you get long with a man like that when you are very creative. He was very good-looking, hardworking, and later on, she started looking after the production work, she was spending all her time there,' she said.
As Nargis was trying to balance her work life and her personal life, her finances went for a toss. During this time, she was getting paid Rs 2,000 a month from RK Films, and her interest in films outside of Raj's sphere was starting to dwindle. Their next film was going to be his magnum opus, Awaara, and this was to become the film that would establish Raj and Nargis as the 'it' couple outside of Bollywood's gossip spheres.
Awaara's plot revolved around Raj and while Nargis' presence was important, she wasn't essential to the plot. The story revolved around a father-son relationship where Prithviraj Kapoor played Raj's father. From headlining films, and playing author backed roles, Nargis was now starting to appear in films where she wasn't the essential character. Nevertheless, the film was a global hit but Akhtar still did not approve. He was also desperately trying to prove his status in the family so he produced a film called Bewafa, with Nargis' savings. And in a rather funny yet filmy way, his plan was to cast Raj in the role of a heartbreaker in a love triangle with his sister playing the woman who gets wronged by his character. Raj and Nargis saw it as a professional commitment and did what was asked.
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Bewafa did not make much money, and received rather underwhelming reviews, considering that the audience now expected them to star in films like Awaara. In this time, they also starred in Jan Pahechan, Anhonee, Aah and Dhoon. Aah was RK Films' first picture that wasn't directed by Raj, and it bombed. But, Nargis stuck by him. Raj saw Nargis as his 'muse' and they would spend all their time together. With the rising violence in her house, and in a bid to get some space away from her family, Nargis had now moved out of her family home and started living in an apartment building next door.
Zahida recalled that Nargis started refusing a lot of work outside of RK in the early 1950s. From having nine pictures in 1950, five in 1951 and 1952, and four in 1953, Nargis went down to just one release in 1954 – Angarey, and in 1955, it was just Shree 420. 'When she got into RK films, she started refusing a lot of work. That was a phase of life when she did not want to listen to reason at all. My father was totally against this RK episode to begin with. He did not approve of it, he disliked it. He kept telling her that when she could have got the best man on earth, why should she waste her time with this much-married Raj Kapoor. But I guess when you are young and in love, reason takes a backseat,' she shared. The reduced amount of films left the family in a dire state and they had to start selling their cars, jewellery but, Nargis was committed to building a life with Raj, and their RK Films.
Shree 420, which released in 1955, proved to be a global hit for RK Films. Centered around Raj's character, which was inspired by Charlie Chaplin, the film followed a naive man who gets seduced by the idea of dishonesty and starts defrauding people. Nargis played the traditional, idealistic woman here, and Nadira played the vamp. The film was a huge hit in India, and internationally as well, but for Nargis, the film did not open any doors because by then, she had shut them all. Without even realising, she had gone from playing a short-haired modern woman, who lived life on her own terms and represented whatever feminism meant in those days, to playing an 'adarsh bhartiya naari' who appeared as a one-note character. Her filmography was shrinking and her finances were a mess. It was as if this realisation hit her like a rock and she snapped out of her dreams during the filming of Chori Chori, which released in 1956.
Chori Chori became the last feature length film where Raj and Nargis shared screen space and as per Zahida, it was during this film that she told her brother Akhtar to look for work outside of the RK sphere. Chori Chori failed and it was if the gods were telling her, 'good riddance'. Nargis' last appearance in RK Films' was in the last frame of Jagte Raho and from then on, her association with Raj ended. The new lot of films that she did after Jagte Raho did not have the kind of roles that Nargis was used to. Films like Adalat, Lajwanti and Miss India all presented her as a traditional Indian woman who sacrifices at the feet of her husband. And it was ultimately Mehboob Khan's Mother India, that changed her life – personally as well as professionally. Her mentor Mehbbob, who had given her her first break, and helped her carve out her career in the initial years, gave her the role that she would always be remembered for. It was also on the set of Mother India that Nargis met her future-husband, Sunil Dutt, and they never looked back.
The love saga of Raj and Nargis did not have a dramatic ending, and while Nargis never looked back, Raj held on to her memories for a long time. He immortalised their first meeting in the film Bobby, he spoke about her in interviews and wrote about her in books, but for Nargis, he was a part of her past that she never revisited as she rebuilt her life with her husband and three children.
Sampada Sharma has been the Copy Editor in the entertainment section at Indian Express Online since 2017. ... Read More