Veteran actress Bindu recently talked about an interesting incident from the sets of Yash Chopra‘s ‘Joshila’, where she refused to wear a bikini and stopped the shoot for almost two hours. She said that no one had told her about the costume before the shoot, which is why she refused to wear it. She also shared a funny story about Sanjeev Kumar, who found it very difficult to call her “Maa” on the sets of Arjun Pandit, because the two had been shooting romantic scenes together for another film earlier that same day.
Bindu was caught off guard by the bikini costume on ‘Joshila’ sets
In a conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Bindu took a trip down memory lane and shared some unforgettable stories from her years in the film industry, giving fans a peek into the warmth and work ethic that defined Hindi cinema in the 1970s. One incident that stood out 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 the shoot 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 earlier.’ I only came to know about it after reaching the set.”
Bindu calls her costume designer as Dev Anand waits quietly
The actress revealed that she immediately summoned her costume designer to the set while the rest of the cast and crew had no choice but to wait. It was Yash Chopra himself who eventually stepped in to find a middle ground and put everyone at ease. “Then Yash ji said, ‘Stay inside the water as much as possible. We’ll shoot it that way and take only the side and back shots.’ Poor Dev Anand ji just sat there quietly and didn’t say anything. The shoot remained halted for almost two hours. I kept wondering what he must be thinking. But Yash ji reassured me, saying, ‘We’ll manage. Don’t worry.'”
How Yash Chopra made Bindu comfortable on ‘Joshila’ sets
Rather than pressuring Bindu to stick to the original plan, Yash Chopra showed great sensitivity and reworked the scene in a way that made her feel comfortable and at ease. “They put me in the water, took the shots from there, and then filmed only the side and back. Afterwards, I asked cinematographer Fali Mistry how it looked. He said, ‘Don’t worry, you look good, not vulgar.’ Once Fali ji said that, I felt reassured.” Released in 1973, Joshila was a star-studded film that featured Dev Anand, Hema Malini, Raakhee and Bindu, with Dev Anand taking on the challenge of playing a double role. The film went on to be fondly remembered for its memorable music and strong performances.
Bindu and Sanjeev Kumar’s hilarious double shift day
She also shared a hilarious story involving Sanjeev Kumar that came about when the two happened to be shooting for two different films on the very same day. She explained that her morning shift, which ran from 7 am to 2 pm, was for a film in which she and Sanjeev Kumar were shooting a romantic song together. “We were shooting a song where I was trying to seduce Sanjeev Kumar.” Once they wrapped up that schedule at Filmistan Studios, both actors made their way to Mohan Studios to begin the evening shoot for Arjun Pandit.
Bindu recalls how Sanjeev Kumar struggled to call her ‘Maa’ in ‘Arjun Pandit’
In Arjun Pandit, Bindu played the wife of Ashok Kumar, and Sanjeev Kumar’s character had to call Ashok Kumar “Babuji” and Bindu “Maa.” But after spending the whole morning shooting romantic scenes with Bindu, Sanjeev Kumar found it very hard to make that switch. “I changed into a simple white sari with no makeup. In the scene, he had to call Ashok Kumar ‘Babuji’ and me ‘Maa.’ He came in, laughed, and walked away because the word ‘Maa’ just wouldn’t come out.” Director Hrishikesh Mukherjee noticed that something was wrong and asked Sanjeev Kumar what the problem was. His answer made everyone on the set burst out laughing. “From 7 am to 2 pm, she was seducing me, and now you’re asking me to call her ‘Maa’?” Bindu said that Sanjeev Kumar did manage to say the line eventually, and once the shot was done, the whole cast and crew could not stop laughing.
