Saagar: Dimple Kapadia’s comeback after failed marriage with Rajesh Khanna; Rishi Kapoor didn’t tell wife Neetu about on-screen kiss

Many accounts of the clip suggest that makers had to ask her hubby Rajesh Khanna for ‘permission’ earlier casting her successful a film, and not conscionable during her ‘comeback’ days. Rishi Kapoor’s memoir ‘Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored’ has him talking astir his begetter Raj Kapoor “fawning” implicit Rajesh Khanna truthful helium would let Dimple to sprout for the remaining portions of Bobby arsenic they had gotten joined portion the movie was inactive being shot. Dimple was inactive a insignificant astatine the time. Before moving successful Saagar, Rishi himself asked Rajesh if it was good for him to enactment with Dimple, to which Rajesh replied that if Rishi “didn’t bash the film, idiosyncratic other would.” Ramesh had heard that Dimple had backed retired of a fewer films aft promising to prima successful them. He recalled being told, “She is his wife…” and was asked to stay cautious earlier finalising her for the film. However, she was formed and Saagar became a important turning constituent successful her life.

Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Kamal Haasan successful Saagar. (Photo: Express Archives)

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Dimple was conscionable 16 erstwhile she joined Rajesh Khanna. She had imagined that helium would sing emotion songs to her, but world sank successful beauteous quickly. In a chat with India Today successful 1985, Dimple said that “life and happiness successful our location came to an end” soon aft they got married. By her ain admission, she was “too young” to recognize the value of having a career, and didn’t adjacent realise that she had deed golden with her debut movie Bobby. But, she did recognize that “from the time I entered Rajesh’s house, Ashirwad, I someway knew that the matrimony wouldn’t work.”

Dimple was being offered Rs 5 lakh for films aft Bobby but her hubby wanted her to discontinue films and enactment astatine home, and she obliged. She admitted that it took her “a hellhole of a agelong clip to realise” that this was not a narration betwixt equals – him being a superstar and her being 16 years younger than him, and not having her fiscal independence. After 3 attempts astatine leaving his location with her daughters, Dimple yet near successful 1982 arsenic she “realised I wouldn’t past arsenic a quality being if I lived determination immoderate longer.” By this time, making it successful the movies was indispensable for Dimple. She was a azygous parent with 2 daughters who couldn’t beryllium connected her husband. She had to rapidly fig things retired for herself whilst besides dealing with the galore societal stigmas that spell with separation.

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Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia successful Saagar. (Photo: Express Archives)

Saagar released successful the mediate of the worst decennary of Hindi cinema, the 1980s. While the movie wasn’t arsenic cringe arsenic galore of its contemporaries that released successful the aforesaid twelvemonth – similar Mard, Ghulami and Meri Jung, it surely wasn’t large either. Its redeeming grace was its euphony by RD Burman, which is chiefly the crushed arsenic to wherefore Saagar continues to beryllium remembered. Made connected a budget of Rs 3.2 crore, Sippys threw everything they had astatine the film. Ramesh, who had made the astir revered movie of Hindi cinema until then, Sholay, hadn’t had a deed since 1975. He had made films similar Shaan and Shakti, but everything looked airy erstwhile compared to Sholay. Saagar was different changeable for Ramesh to make thing new, thing that would found that determination was much to him than Sholay.

As Saagar released, the movie was already generating immoderate gossip with Rishi and Dimple getting backmost together, and sharing a fewer intimate moments connected screen. Such was the anticipation that Rishi didn’t adjacent archer his woman Neetu astir the on-screen buss until she saw it herself connected the nighttime of the premiere. Rishi shared that Neetu was “threatened” by Dimple erstwhile helium worked with her successful Saagar, and immoderate of it stemmed from those Booby days erstwhile Dimple was “more than a friend.” During the making of Bobby, movie magazines similar Stardust suggested that Rishi and Dimple’s narration wasn’t each that innocent, and that determination was romance brewing betwixt the two. Rishi said that a ringing that belonged to him, and was worn by Dimple was flung into the oversea by Rajesh erstwhile helium projected to Dimple. And this, further fueled the rumors that Rishi was a broken-hearted antheral aft Dimple joined Rajesh.

Ramesh Sippy with Dimple Kapadia connected the acceptable of Saagar. (Photo: Express Archives)

But the large ungraded of the movie was a changeable of Dimple astatine a formation successful a towel that suggested much than what was usually permitted by the Central Board of Film Certification. In 2025, the changeable doesn’t look scandalous but 1 tin ideate wherefore this would person go a talking constituent aft the merchandise of the film. This was besides the epoch erstwhile Raj Kapoor made Ram Teri Ganga Maili and tried to suggest that shooting Mandakini nether a waterfall successful a achromatic garment wasn’t meant to beryllium suggestive. This peculiar representation associated with Saagar wasn’t each that pleasant for Dimple due to the fact that adjacent much than a decennary later, successful 1998, she chose to not reply immoderate questions astir it. “I don’t privation to speech astir the swimming costume bit, but Saagar was so a large movie for a comeback. I proved that a joined pistillate with a 2 kids tin besides marque a comeback if she wants to,” she told Rediff.

Saagar wasn’t the large deed that the Sippys had hoped for. Soon aft this, Ramesh moved connected to tv and directed Doordarshan’s Buniyaad. He directed a fewer films similar Bhrashtachar, Akayla, Shimla Mirchi and so, Saagar became his past movie of immoderate importance. But for Dimple, this was a beingness changing movie arsenic it allowed her to reclaim her career.