After 50 years, I’m acting again
Ramesh Sippy admits that at 68, he cannot afford long breaks anymore
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 26, 2015)

Not many know that as a teenager Ramesh Sippy had dabbled in acting and one of the cameos was in a film titled Bewakoof. He played a young Pran who cheats his way to a win after knocking the hero out cold in a boxing ring. But Sippy quickly realised that he was more inclined towards direction and didn't appear on camera for almost half a century till Shimla Mirchi, which brings him back as a director after 20 years, came along.

It was Hema Malini's first day of shooting. The actress who's reuniting with the director after four decades, was ready to accept the role even without a narration though Sippy insisted on one. "It's a one scene appearance and we were looking for an actor when Hema suggested I do it myself. And after 50 years, I ended up on screen again with the Dream Girl," says Sippy.

Their innings started in 1971 with his directorial debut Andaz about a widow and widower with young children who get another chance to love. Sippy remembers filming the chartbuster, Zindagi ek safar hai suhana, with Rajesh Khanna careening down Marine Drive on a bike, Hema laughing gaily behind him.

Suddenly, taking everyone by surprise the actor took his legs off the foot pegs and swung them on the handle bar.

"All of us froze, the camera capturing the OMG! expression on Hema's face. It was a spur of the moment decision, prompted perhaps by the adoring crowds around. Rajesh Khanna's split-second move was extremely dangerous as he was surrounded by fast-moving cars on all sides. We had our hearts in our mouths," Sippy shudders, adding with a laugh, "Fourty years later, Hema Malini, takes Rajkummar Rao for a ride, literally, on a bike."

That's not all. In Seeta Aur Geeta, Hema clambered up to sit on a ceiling fan in the police station, taunting her aunt, "Upar aa ja moti." In Sippy's upcoming rom-com, she climbs up a tree. "It was one thing to do it when she was in her 20s, but when I suggested she climb a tree after so many years, she looked at me and quipped, 'You won't stop doing these things to me, will you?' Eventually, she obliged," he laughs.

Their last film together was Sholay in 1975. Sippy remembers that on the last say they were waiting for a train to pass by, so they could can their final shot before Dharmendra and Hema boarded the flight. Everyone was ready, when suddenly an AD remembered that in the earlier shot she had a flower tucked in her hair. They needed it for continuity. A frantic search revealed that the truck with the flower was on its way to fetch breakfast for the unit. "We chased it down, retrieved the flower, and just as it was tucked into Hema's hair, the train came roaring down and Sholay was done," reminisces Sippy.

In contrast, the 'tangy' Shimla Mirchi, which wrapped up yesterday, was smooth sailing. But Sippy recalls that after they'd been spotted on the streets of Shimla for three consecutive days, a bemused bystander suddenly piped up, saying, "Arrey, these guys are still shooting for a two-hour film! Yeh kya kar rahe hain?"

He says that despite the technological advances that have made filmmaking a different experience, for some viewers the reel life action should correspond with real time. "That's the magic of cinema," he asserts.

So, has he started planning his next film or will there be another long break?

"I can't afford any more long breaks," admits Sippy who turned 68 on January 23. "What I want to do, I have to do in the next few years. Clint Eastwood who is still making films at 84 is an inspiration to rest of us to continue."