The original poster of the film with Madhubala (left,) (centre) Suchitra Sen with Dev Anand and (right) the hand-painted film poster with Suchitra Sen Sixty five years have passed, yet the magic of Bombai Ka Babu still remains intact. Based on an O’ Henry story, the film was the biggest directional challenge of Raj Khosla. Despite its initial flop, the film cemented Dev Anand and Suchitra Sen as a beloved onscreen pair, pushing the boundaries with its unconventional storyline about a brother in disguise and a sister was far ahead of its times.
Dev Anand, during the climax, joked to Suchitra Sen that it would be ideal if it was their marriage scene to which she burst into laughter. Both faced the camera and performed the last scene as Dev Anand put his arm around Suchitra Sen’s shoulders and walked, looking down. Completing the shot, Suchitra Sen exclaimed, “Bhaiya”. So moved was the actor that he embraced Sen and both had tears rolling down their cheeks.
How the pairing came to be
The initial choice for the female lead was Madhubala but she was unwell. This led to both Raj Khosla and Dev Anand to opt for Suchitra Sen for the project. With Devdas and Musafir flopping, the queen of Bengali cinema was reticent to act in Hindi movies. The script encouraged her and as Dev Anand was her co star, she could not say no to Raj Khosla. It is known that Dev Anand fell in love with Suchitra Sen’s expressive eyes while Sen was enamored by Anand’s smile. Both struck a warm rapport from day one of shooting at Shimla.
Suchitra and Dev’s undeniable chemistry
Dev Anand called Suchitra Sen by her first name and Suchitra with respect said Devsaab. During the shooting of the famous scene, a silent one where Dev Anand lay on the ground and Suchitra Sen plucked flowers, both exuded a brilliant undertone of emotion in one take. After Jal Mistry canned the shot in one take, Suchitra marveled at Dev Anand’s romantic nuances. Dev Anand was all praise for Suchitra’s transformation of moods effortlessly.