Veteran actress: Bindu: recently talked about an interesting incident from the sets of: Yash Chopraof ‘Joshila’, where she refused to wear a bikini and stopped the shooting for almost two hours. He said that no one told him about the costume before the shooting, which is why he refused to wear it. He also shared a funny story about: Sanjeev Kumarwho had a hard time calling her “Maa” on the sets of Arjun Pandit, as the two were shooting romantic scenes together for another film earlier that day.
Bindu was caught in a bikini costume on ‘Joshila’ sets
In a conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Bindu takes a trip down memory lane and shares some unforgettable stories from her years in the film industry, giving fans a glimpse of the warmth and work ethic that defined Hindi cinema in the 1970s. An incident that came to light was from the sets of ‘Joshila’, where Bindu was caught completely off guard when she arrived and was handed a bikini to wear for a scene without any prior warning. “I stopped shooting for two hours because I wasn’t ready to wear a proper bikini. A bikini is a bikini. I told Yash ji, ‘Please… you never told me about this before.’ I only found out about it after reaching the set.”
Bindu called her costume designer: Dev Anand waiting in silence
The actress revealed that she immediately called her costume designer to the set while the cast and crew had no choice but to wait. Yash Chopra himself eventually stepped in to find a middle ground and put everyone at ease. “Then Yash ji said, ‘Stay in the water as much as possible. We will shoot that way and take only side and back shots.’ Poor Dev Anand ji just sat there silently and didn’t say anything. The firing remained at a standstill for almost two hours. I kept wondering what he was thinking. But Yash ji assured me, saying, ‘Well manage. Don’t worry.'”
How Yash Chopra made Bindu feel comfortable on the sets of ‘Joshila’
Instead of forcing Bindu to stick to the original plan, Yash Chopra showed great sensitivity and changed the scene in a way that made her comfortable and at ease. “They put me in the water, took the shots from there, and then just filmed the side and the back. Afterwards, I asked the cinematographer Fali Mistry how it looked. He said, ‘Don’t worry, you’re fine, not vulgar.’ When Fali ji said that, I felt assured.” Released in 1973, Joshila was a star-studded film featuring Dev Anand, Hema Malini, Raakhee and Bindu, with Dev Anand taking on the challenge of playing a double role. The film continues to be fondly remembered for its memorable music and powerful performances.
Bindu and Sanjeev Kumar the funny day of the double shift
He also shared a hilarious story involving Sanjeev Kumar that happened when the two were shooting for two different films on the same day. She explained that her morning shift, which started from 7 am to 2 pm, was for a film where she and Sanjeev Kumar were shooting a romantic song. “We shot a song where I tried to seduce Sanjeev Kumar.” When they finished that schedule at Filmistan Studios, the two actors went to Mohan Studios to start shooting at night for Arjun Pandit.
Bindu recalls how Sanjeev Kumar struggled to call her ‘Maa’ in ‘Arjun Pandit’
In Arjun Pandit, Bindu played Ashok Kumar’s wife, and Sanjeev Kumar’s character had to call Ashok Kumar “Babuji” and Bindu “Maa.” But after spending the entire morning shooting romantic scenes with Bindu, Sanjeev Kumar found it very difficult to make that switch. “I changed into a simple white sari with no makeup. In the scene, she had to call Ashok Kumar ‘Babuji’ and me ‘Maa.’ He entered, laughed, and left because the word ‘Maa’ would never come out.Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee noticed something was wrong and asked Sanjeev Kumar what the problem was. His answer made everyone on the set laugh. “From 7 am to 2 pm, he seduced me, and now you ask me to call him ‘Maa’?” Bindu said Sanjeev Kumar managed to say the line at the end, and when the shot was over, the entire cast and crew couldn’t stop laughing.
