Smita Patil is one of the most iconic actresses Indian Cinema witnessed. However her journey was short lived since the actress passed away 15 days after giving birth to son Prateik Babbar and her husband Raj Babbar, moved back with his first wife and children Juhi Babbar and Aarya Babbar after Smita‘s death.
Smita’s body of work includes many award-winning films like Manthan, which will be screened at Cannes Film Festival this year to Arth. But apart from these heavy, content-driven films that were called the ‘artsy types,’ she was a part of commercial hits like Namak Halal and others.
Smita Patil was paired with Amitabh Bachchan in Namak Halal. The film became iconic for its song Pag Ghunghroo Baandh Meera Naachi Thi – a must at Indian weddings. However, today, we will talk about what happened after shooting for the other iconic song from the film.
When we talk about the most iconic rain songs of Hindi Cinema, Aaj Rapat Jaaye probably undoubtedly tops the list. The song from Namak Halal had Amitabh Bachchan and the queen of parallel cinema dancing their heart out on the streets of Mumbai drenched in rain. However, what happened after the shoot was surprising.
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After Smita Patil completed shooting for the song, she locked her room and cried her lungs out. The reason for her meltdown was an attempt at commercial cinema, and suddenly, she was worried about her serious image that brought her weight as a star. Smita never attempted such an eye-grabbing dance before, and she was not sure if commercial cinema would work for her the same way parallel films did.
Later it was co-star and great friend Amitabh Bachchan who stepped in and coaxed the actress to shed her inhibitions. Some reports suggest that the actor even cajoled her to broaden her perspective and balance the best of both worlds.
Namak Halal eventually was a huge hit at the box office, and Smita Patil’s dance in Aaj Rapat Jaayein with Amitabh Bachchan is sealed in history!