Hema Malini is known as Bollywood's Dream Girl, but her journey to becoming a celebrated actor was not as smooth as many might think. Before making her mark on the big screen, she was already a talented dancer. Her mother, Jaya Chakravarthy, wanted her to become a successful film star.
Her big break came when filmmaker CV Sridhar offered her a role in a film. He even wanted to change her name to Sujata, as he felt it was perfect for her. However, things took an unexpected turn when Hema was dropped from the project before filming began.
According to Ram Kamal Mukherjee's book, Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl, Sridhar planned to introduce Hema Malini alongside young Jayalalithaa in a film. Hema was called for a photo shoot and asked to wear a saree, but she was unhappy with how she looked.
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As a result, she was dropped from the film. Sridhar also made negative comments about her chances of becoming a successful star.
While her family was disappointed, the setback did not end her film journey. Soon after losing the role, Hema got another opportunity to work with Raj Kapoor in the 1968 film Sapno Ka Saudagar.
Producer B Ananthaswami invited Hema Malini to RK Studios for a screen test. She performed a few scenes in front of Raj Kapoor and filmmaker K Asif. Hema was thrilled to meet Raj Kapoor.
After finishing her scenes, Hema waited nervously to hear what Raj thought of her performance. His positive response gave her a huge confidence boost. He believed she had the potential to become one of the biggest stars in Indian cinema.
During the promotional campaign for Sapno Ka Saudagar, Hema was introduced as Raj Kapoor's Dream Girl. However, the significant age difference between the two was hard to ignore. Hema was just 16, while Raj Kapoor was 44. Despite this, the makers decided to play along and highlighted their pairing on the posters, which Hema found amusing.
“A few of the posters were really funny. They had things like ‘forty-four-year-old Raj Kapoor in love with sixteen-year-old Hema Malini' written on them. I was enjoying the entire publicity gimmick,” she said.
The title Dream Girl soon became closely associated with Hema Malini, who went on to become a Bollywood star. Her popularity grew so rapidly that she signed five more films even before her debut film was released.
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