It’s interesting how perceptions alter with time. Some years ago, a shy Jaya Bhaduri rendered ‘Bol re papi hara…’ in Guddi and a few decades later, Kajol draped in a towel danced to ‘Mere khwabon mein jo aaye…’ in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Amitabh Bachchan and Smita Patil surrender to the monsoon madness in ‘Aaj rapat jaiyo…’ in Namak Halaal, so do the kids of Dil Toh Pagal Hai in ‘Koi ladka hai’.

If Sridevi in ‘Kaate nahin kattey…’ in Mr. India was a celebration of sensuality, Akshay Kumar’s ‘Dekho zara dekho barsaat ki jhadi…’ in Yeh Dillagi is both, a physical and an emotional release but for Mumbaikars the song of complete identification over the years remains ‘Rimjhim gire saawan…’where Moushumi Chatterjee and Amitabh Bachchan walk hand-in-hand drenched in Mumbai rains.  

Directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee portrayed rain and his characters more realistically. Remember Raakhee just strolling in the forest and singing to no one in particular ‘Sawan ke Jhoole…’ in Jurmana? In most of these films, rain was a metaphor, a muse to express longing. Hema Malini is a dancer in Abhinetri and does her workout singing ‘O ghata sawari…’ while Rajesh Khanna -Zeenat Aman are in a playful mood during ‘Bheegi bheegi raaton mein…’ in Ajnabee.

Sometimes, the rain sequence was a turning point of the story like Amitabh Bachchan walking Raakhee home under an umbrella in Kaala Pathar, Anuradha Patel singing ‘Mera kuch samaan tumhare paaas…’ in Ijaazat or Vinod Khanna’s soulful ‘Lagee aaj sawan ki phir wo jhadi hai…’ in Chandni. Equally endearing is Shabana Azmi draped in a black shawl, shot amidst swaying trees and dew drops, singing ‘Phir se aiyo barkha bidesi …’ in Gulzar’s Namkeen.

If rain had different expressions, so did our lyricists and depending on the character and situation in the story, our filmmakers created magic on screen. On top of my favorite rain song list is Bimal Roy’s Parakh where Sadhana waits in the balcony for her beloved and sings ‘O sajna barkha bahar aayin…’ It was a subdued song of love and appreciation of nature.

In Sujata however ‘Kaali ghata chaye mora jiya ghabaraye…’  naayika/ Nutan spends most of the time indoors, attending to household chores but the thundering clouds awaken dormant desires in Sujata, she runs up to her room, throws open the windows and soaks in the fragrance. The close-up shot of Nutan smiling at the clouds and admitting desire for a soulmate is heart-wrenching.

Different directors used rain in different ways to seduce the audience. While director Shakti Samanta left nothing to imagination about what his hero/ heroine were going through in ‘Roop teara mastana’ in Aradhnana, the seduction was more succinct in Roti Kapda aur Makaan when a sari clad Zeenat Aman jumps into the rain and sings ‘Hai hai ye majboori’ her boyfriend Manoj Kumar cannot join her because he has an interview call and so watches her waiting under an umbrella.

Romance in Hindi films is synonymous with rain sequences. There was a time, long, long ago, when a drenched heroine singing love songs to her hero was the only ticket to erotica on the big screen. As times changed, so did our rain songs and come monsoons, we remember these songs depending on our mood and mindset.

If ‘Pyar hua iqrar hua…’ picturized on Nargis and Raj Kapoor shot under a wind-blown umbrella in Shri 420 was the epitome of romance in the 50s ‘Badal yun garajta hai …’ in Betaab a song of reunion between childhood friends Amrita Singh and Sunny Deol was a moment of nostalgia in the 80s. An ecstatic Madhoo jumping in the paddy fields singing ‘Dil hai chotasa…’ in Roja in the 90s, or asubtle Kareena Kapoor seducing a shy Rahul Bose in Chameli were results of thunder in the sky. Aamir Khan and Gracy Singh dance to ‘Kaale megha kale megha…’ with the entire village in Lagaan while Aishwarya Rai charmed by the cloud’s dances solo on the street singing ‘barso re megha…’ in Guru.

Around this time, Karan Johar offered Neetu Kaoor a film with Anil Kapoor. It was too good a role to refuse. She was wife of Kapoor, mother of Varun Dhawan and mother-in-law of Kiara Advani. The shooting and all the accompanying activities distracted Neetu from the tragedy. As luck would have it her comeback film Jug Jugg Jiyo proved a big success and brought her accolades.

There was other good news too. Alia and Ranbir Kapoor’s Bhramastra Part 1 in the making for four years was ready for release and so was and Ranbir Kapoor and family were celebrating the high. Ali was in shooting her Hollywood debut and simultaneously preparing for her debut production launch, Darlings.

Today, the Kapoor have a lot to look forward to. Their dream home is almost ready and the dream baby (little Ranbir/ Aliaa) is on its way. Life is full of surprises and as they say, it is never over till it is really over!

In the meantime, opportunities came her way when she least expected them. Do Dooni Chaar/ 2010 where Rishi and she address middle class aspirations, Jab Tak Hain Jaan/ 2012 which was a reversal of role for Neetu with Yash Chopra. Years ago, her unwed mother had deserted her in Kabhi Kabhie and in Jab Tak Hai Jaan she has done that too Katrina Kaif. Then came Besharam/ 2013 where the entire family was together and she played a cop.  

Some more years passed by…

The new home was progressing and Rishi Kapoor looked forward to shifting into his dream home. Then he fell ill and it was a long road to recovery. He tried hard, so did the family but his untimely departure was inevitable. Those were difficult days but there is always a silver lining in the darkest cloud and when Ranbir married Alia, it was time to disconnect with gloom.

Post honeymoon, Neetu and Rishi Kapoor lived at RK home in Chembur. Randhir Kapoor and Babita had done the same and Babita described it as the best years of her married life. Now Neetu and Rishi did the same. They looked out for a nest but nothing special came their way, so tentatively shifted into Kesar Villa with Rajee Kaur. End of the year, Riddhima arrived and two years later, Ranbir. The dream home was nowhere in sight so Rishi Kapoor purchased a plot and built Krishna Raj. By the time they moved into the new home, Krishna Raj, the children had more or less grown up.

Two decades passed by and the family endured many highs and lows -Riddhima got married, Ranbir came into films, Riddhima had a baby, Rajee Kaur said farewell and Neetu did a cameo in Love Aaj Kal. Now there were three actors in a family and their home needed a face lift, so the family temporarily moved into an alternate arrangement and the architects began resurrecting their bungalow.

The process took longer than anticipated…

Rishi Kapoor and Neetu were together all the time, either shooting and post shooting, at Neetu’s home.  When they were traveling, they were chatting on trunk calls. The first time they were disconnected for a long time, was when Neetu was away shooting in a remote region for Yash Chopra’s Kala Pathar. The location had no phone facilities. Neetu had not spoken to her boyfriend for days and was miserable and then a telegram arrived- Sikhni yaad aati hain. and Neetu was over the moon!

In 1979 there was a wedding in Raj Kapoor’s daughter Ritu Nanda’s family and the entire Kapoor clan was gathered in Delhi. Raj Kapoor decided that it was a good time to announce Rishi Kapoor’s engagement and though Rishi had never discussed Neetu with his parents, they knew she was the girl for him. Neetu and her mother were called to Delhi and Neetu- Rishi were officially engaged.

The very next day, Neetu’s manager sent letters to all filmmakers requesting them to wrap up shootings at the earliest. Those were days when every studio was holding a Neetu Singh film set. I know because I have accompanied her on these triple shifts, driving from one studio to another. I was part of her wedding celebrations too – the mehendi and the akhand path all held at her new bungalow, Kesar Villa.