Nargis suffered beatings from her brother, was betrayed by Raj Kapoor, was underpaid for 10 years, stopped working with RK films after…

Raj Kapoor, the original showman of Indian cinema, left a lasting legacy of films that remain fresh in the audience’s mind. Not just his professional life, but also his personal life marred by a tumultuous affair with actress Nargis grabbed many headlines, leaving his fans intrigued.

Their professional relationship gradually turned into love and lasted for almost a decade. Although, they became inseparable but their tragic-lover affair had no future as Raj Kapoor was already married to Krishna. Nargis’s family was impetuously against her relationship with Raj Kapoor, so much so that her brother Akhtar used to beat her up constantly for being with him. But madly in love she was, Nargis put her career on hold, let go of opportunities and money, so that she could stay around Raj Kapoor.

Raj Kapoor was so keen to cast Nargis in Aag, which was the first film of RK banner. So, he approached Jaddanbai, Nargis’ mom, and offered to pay Rs 5000 as fees. But Nargis’ brother jumped in and renegotiated the deal as he knew that his sister was already a leading actress, and got Raj to pay Rs 40,000.

Following Aag, Raj kept on working with Nargis and gave her many opportunities, but never paid her what she deserved. Her undeniable love for Raj made him settle for less, and as a result of this, the finances of her family affected badly.

After Nargis lost his parents, the financial responsibilities of her siblings and their family fell on her shoulders. Since the whole responsibility of her family was on her, it became more important for her to take up projects that helped her monetarily.

Slowly, she realised that her association with Raj Kapoor was taking an emotional and financial toll on her. Nargis was aware that he wouldn’t leave his wife for her, and she was wasting her time on him. Moreover, she was also losing work opportunities as many felt that she is only working with RK films. Also, Raj Kapoor wasn’t paying her nearly what she deserve, and falsely made her believe that she was part of RK films, with no authoritsation on paper.

It was during Chori Chori that Nargis asked her brother, who was her manager at that time, to look for work beyond RK sphere. Chori Chori failed, and eventually it was her last association with Raj Kapoor. Her last appearance in RK films was in Jagte Raho, and from then on she starred in new lot of films like Adalat, Lajwanti and Miss India. However, it was Mehbbob Khan’s Mother India that changed her career not just professionally but also personally. It was during the making of Mother India that she met her future husband Sunil Dutt and never looked back.

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