Not Mandakini But Padmini Kolhapure Was Raj Kapoor’s First Choice For Ram Teri Ganga Maili (Photo Credit: Instagram/Padmini Kolhapure & IMDb)
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One cannot deny the fact that Ram Teri Ganga Maili is one of Bollywood’s most cult film, and the classic to date has a massive fanbase. All thanks to Mandakini’s unbelievable beauty and her moving performance in the film with Rajiv Kapoor. But while it to date happens to be a masterclass, did you know that the actress wasn’t the first choice to play Ganga, but it was Padmini Kolhapure?
Yes, you read that right. Padmini Kolhapure ever since she made her way to films with Satyam Shivam Sundaram, there was no looking back. The actor played Zeenat Aman’s Rupa’s younger version and garnered massive praises. Now in the latest interview, she has opened up about being offered the Mandakini starrer and why she chose not to do the film. Below is all you need to know and what the actor exactly has to say.
Padmini Kolhapure and late actor-director Raj Kapoor’s pair has done wonders. Their film Prem Rog that starred Rishi Kapoor in the lead, is an example. The legendary Bollywood star wanted Kolhapure to get on board for Ram Teri Ganga Maili too. Talking to TOI about the same, she said Raj Kapoor knew her inhibitions and why she wasn’t doing the film.
Padmini Kolhapure said, “You can’t grab every film that comes your way, If a film does well to the magnitude that Ram Teri Ganga Maili did, you do feel that you should have been a part of it. Ram Teri Ganga Maili did astoundingly well, Mandakini did a good job, the songs were beautiful. But then, Raj Ji knew my inhibitions. He exactly knew why I wasn’t doing it.”
Talking about the reason why she said no, Padmini Kolhapure made it clear that it wasn’t the breastfeeding sequence. “That bold scene was never going to be a part of the film when I was talking to Raj Ji about it. I didn’t want to do the kissing scene,” She said.
Kolhapure added, “It was just that I was not comfortable about kissing on screen. But yet, Raj Ji asked me to reconsider it even after he’d completed a 45-day schedule with Mandakini and others.”
And the rest as they say is history. Both the film and Padmini Kolhapure in her career have managed to achieve massive milestones.
