Hema Malini admits shooting romantic scenes with Raj Kapoor as a teenager was ‘difficult’, recalls pointing out that he was over 40 years old

Asked if she ever noticed the age-gap between them, she replied in the affirmative. But she was aware that she was being given an important opportunity, which is what she focused on more than anything. She said that she only saw Raj Kapoor ‘as an actor’, and that he suited the character perfectly. She did, however, admit that she was ‘scared in the beginning’, and confessed that shooting a romantic scene with him was especially difficult. The director, Mahesh Kaul, helped her through the whole situation. Hema said that he would try to explain the emotions behind a scene via the language of dance, to make things easier for Hema.

In the same interview, Hema said that everybody in the industry knew that there were certain lines that they couldn’t cross with her, and that there were certain kinds of roles that she wouldn’t do. Even Raj Kapoor, who first offered her a role in Satyam Shivam Sundaram, knew that she wouldn’t do it. Hema said that Raj Kapoor himself was apprehensive when he approached her for the role, and his feelings were confirmed when Hema’s mother put her foot down and said that she would absolutely not do something like it.