Will 'Pyar Mein Twist' revive the Dimple-Rishi magic?

Mumbai, Sep 1 (IANS) When she was 15 and he was 17, they were the original teen romance duo.

Dimple Kapadia and Rishi Kapoor in Raj Kapoor's "Bobby" set off an industry of Bollywood style puppy-love that featured such real-into-reel life lovers as Kumar Gaurav and Vijeta Pandit in "Love Story" and Sanjay Dutt and Tina Munim in "Rocky".

In fact, the only celluloid pair that didn't get along in real life was Kamal Haasan-Rati Agnihotri in "Ek Duuje Ke Liye".

The movement of movie-endorsed togetherness spearheaded by Rishi-Dimple more than 30 years ago has come a full circle with Sammir Dattani and Soha Ali Khan playing the young lovers in Hriday Shetty's "Pyar Mein Twist" while Rishi and Dimple play the aging love-birds.

"And why not?" protests Rishi Kapoor. "After all, the older generation has as much right to love and companionship as young people. I really like the message underlining Hriday Shetty's film."

The fact that Rishi and Dimple were, in Page 3 speak, more than just good friends in the "Bobby" days, adds an interesting twist to the ageless love story.

"Oh, all that was so long ago. We are now grown-up people with lives and families of our own," Rishi brushes off the nostalgic romance of the pair, sweeping under the carpet such historic nuggets from the gossip columns of the 1970s as Dimple's overnight marriage to then superstar Rajesh Khanna after she reportedly threw Rishi's ring into the sea....

They were seen together two decades later in Ramesh Sippy's "Sagar", still as intense lovers. Rishi even planted a quick smooch on Dimple's lips in "Sagar". But by now Bobby (Dimple) and Raja (Rishi) had moved apart. Rishi was happily married with two children and Dimple was blissfully divorced with two daughters to raise.

Now the Page 3 tattle had another story to tell. It was "Sagar" director Ramesh Sippy who was totally enamoured of Dimple, so much so that he overdid the deification of his heroine. Repeated shots flattering Dimple's mythic beauty were used in "Sagar", rendering the love triangle a wee lopsided.

But will the formula of autumnal love used to such great advantage between Hema Malini and Amitabh Bachchan in "Baghban" work for Dimple and Rishi in "Pyar Mein Twist"?

This is the first Hindi film since Basu Chatterjee's "Khatta Meetha" which goes into the theme of middle age romance. Just how seriously will the audience take the emotional needs of an over-the-hill couple?

Can Rishi and Dimple do what Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep succeeded in doing in "The Bridges Of Madison County"? Or are we heading for a grey zone in Hindi cinema where audiences aren't prepared to go?

Other notable films about autumnal couples: Sanjeev Kumar and Mala Sinha in Ravi Tandon's "Zindagi", Rajesh Khanna and Shabana Azmi in Mohan Kumar's "Avtar", Ashok Kumar and Pearl Padamsee in Basu Chatterjee's "Khatta Meetha", Rajesh Khanna and Smita Patil in Mohan Kumar's "Amrit" and Dilip Kumar and Raakhee in Ramesh Sippy's "Shakti".

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Pyaar Mein Twist