Rishi Kapoor was the nation’s heartthrob, playing the leading man in Hindi cinema for nearly 25 years. His journey, especially the phenomenal success of his debut film Bobby in 1973 — which turned him into an overnight star — often makes people believe that this star kid from Bollywood’s most celebrated family was destined to rise to the very top.But what many tend to overlook is that Rishi’s entry into films wasn’t the result of a carefully crafted strategy, but was born out of necessity. It was a desperate attempt to rescue RK Studios and to pull his legendary father, filmmaker Raj Kapoor, out of the clutches of mounting debt. Bobby wasn’t just a film; it was the project that saved an empire and, in the process, gave birth to a star who would go on to redefine romance on the big screen.Mera Naam Joker fiascoRaj Kapoor spent six years making his passion project — Mera Naam Joker. The filmmaker-actor, who himself played the lead role in the film, didn’t just mortgage his family property to make it, but also mortgaged RK Studios. Raj Kapoor placed a big bet on the film, but it didn’t pay off, and the film turned out to be a disaster at the box office, almost destroying him. Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker.In an interview with Zoom Entertainment, veteran actor Prem Chopra reflected on that period and said, “Raj Kapoor was finished! Unka sab kuch bik gaya (He was compelled to sell everything he had). Mera Naam Joker failed miserably at the box office. Raj saab was under a tremendous financial crisis. He not only mortgaged RK Studios but also had to sell off his family properties.”Birth of BobbyRaj Kapoor must have had a heart of steel, because even after a colossal failure, he didn’t give up on his love for filmmaking. He was a risk-taker at heart, and at a time when teenage love stories were unheard of, he decided to make one with Bobby. While many big actors — Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz — were eager to work with the iconic filmmaker despite the failure of Mera Naam Joker, Raj Kapoor instead chose to take the risk of launching newcomers — Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia — at such a fragile moment in his career.Speaking about it, Rishi Kapoor told Bollywood Hungama, “So, Bobby was made at a time when Raj Kapoor needed a successful film. And the easiest way out after Mera Naam Joker debacle was to take big stars and make a film as there was a 100 percent hit chance since Raj Kapoor was making it. That is why Rajesh Khanna and that time, I am told, Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz were keen to work with Raj Kapoor. They would do anything to work with him. He didn’t believe taking stars in the film, in the sense that, his vision and thinking were different.”He added, “Bobby was made because Raj Kapoor had to be bailed out. He had this studio mortgage. Bobby was made at a time when Raj Kapoor needed a successful film.”Story continues below this ad Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in a still from Bobby. (Pic: Express Archive)Distributors demanded to see Bobby after Mera Naam Joker failureIn an old interaction with Filmy Charcha, Raza Murad recalled that distributors who once lined up to buy Raj Kapoor’s films now demanded to see Bobby before its release and refused to buy it outright. “After Mera Naam Joker, he was in tremendous debt. Things got so bad that distributors refused to buy Bobby without seeing it first. These were the same people who were once desperate to secure the rights to his movies. But after Mera Naam Joker, everything changed. He refused to show them the movie, but he agreed to show them the songs,” he said.Also read | Bollywood sex symbol left penniless after her cheating husband’s death, survived abuse and did odd jobs to surviveNeetu Singh vs Dimple KapadiaRaj Kapoor auditioned both Dimple Kapadia and Neetu Singh (now Kapoor) for the lead role opposite Rishi Kapoor in Bobby. However, film historian Dilip Thakur earlier told ETimes that Raj didn’t choose Neetu as she was already a famous child actor at the time, and he needed a fresh face for his film, which is why Dimple was cast in the film. Rishi Kapoor admitted how early success with Bobby made him arrogant and detached. (Express archive photo)No special treatment for Rishi KapoorAruna Irani, who played a negative role in Bobby, recalled how Raj Kapoor didn’t give any special treatment to his son Rishi Kapoor on the sets of the film. He was scolded like any other actor if something went wrong. “Raj ji treated Chintu baba (Rishi) just like any other new actor. He treated Dimple and Chintu the same way,” she said. She insisted that Raj Kapoor never granted Rishi any extra privileges on set despite being his son.Rishi bought award, turned into a brat after Bobby’s successBobby resurrected Raj Kapoor’s career, saved RK Studios, and made Rishi an overnight star. The film had a lot riding on it, and it came out with flying colours. It was the highest-grossing Indian film of the year, netting Rs 11 crore in the domestic market on a budget of just Rs 1 crore.Story continues below this adBut success also turned Rishi into a brat. In an interaction with India Today, Rishi admitted to buying an award after Bobby’s success. He said, “I feel guilty about the fact. I was all of 20-21 years of age and I was suddenly a huge star after Bobby, and I was a real brat. Someone told me that, ‘You know, we can get this award, do you want it?’, and I said, ‘Yes, of course,’ and then he said, ‘It will cost you Rs 30,000.’ Back then, Rs 30,000 was big money. So I said why not.”Speaking to Simi Garewal, Rishi admitted that he “got polluted” after finding newfound fame in Bobby. “To be honest, Simi, after ‘Bobby’, I was flying. I didn’t have my feet on the ground. I was in my 20s, a little kid, brash, being paid so much money, so popular. I had a lifestyle that had gone absolutely awry,” he admitted.He went on to say that it took a film’s failure to bring him back to reality and also taught him the importance of staying grounded.