There was a time when teen girls were frequently cast as female leads and presented as symbols of sensuality. Actor Mandakini was one such artiste, who was presented in a hypersexualised fashion in Raj Kapoor’s Ram Teri Ganga Maili. At 17, she appeared as the female lead in the film, which was her debut role. While the romantic drama became her breakout film, it also courted controversy over scenes showing her breastfeeding a newborn and another scene of her bathing in a translucent saree under a waterfall.

However, while recalling her work on the movie recently, Mandakini maintained that she did not find anything vulgar or uncomfortable about the scenes. She also clarified that no actual breastfeeding took place in the controversial scene and that the perception was created through camera positioning.

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Vishal Bhardwaj’s father paved the way for Mandakini’s film entry

Revealing that ace filmmaker-composer Vishal Bhardwaj’s father, Ram Bhardwaj, who used to write poetry and lyrics for Hindi films, was the first to suggest that she become an actor, Mandakini shared during a conversation with news agency ANI, “His daughter and my elder sister were schoolmates in Meerut. One day, he asked my parents to take me to Bombay (now Mumbai) for a vacation and meet the few people whose contacts he gave for acting opportunities. Mom and dad were very excited, and they were the ones who decided that I become an actor, not me.”

“We eventually met Raj saab (Raj Kapoor). I gave a screen test, and he liked it. We had a nice conversation. He asked me if I had younger siblings. When I said yes, he enquired if I usually pick them up, carry them on my hip and handle them if they cry. Then he asked about my family, although I didn’t understand why. He wanted an Indian feel in me. I was 16 when the filming started, and by the time it ended, I was 17,” she recalled.

Mandakini on controversial scenes in Ram Teri Ganga Maili

When asked if she felt odd being portrayed as a “desirable figure” in Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Mandakini said, “I don’t know. On the one hand, I may have also had an interest in doing the film, and on the other hand, I had support from my family. Plus, some people completely enchant you when you talk to them. Raj Kapoor was one such person.”

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“When the shooting started, each scene had to be explained. It felt like a spiritual place where everyone was doing their own work with a spiritual feeling. The cameraman was doing his role, the director was doing his role, the dance master was doing his role. Everyone was doing their own work like worship. So, I was completely lost, and going with the flow,” she added.

Mandakini continued, “His (Raj Kapoor) method was such that you wouldn’t even question him… He used to explain things so lovingly and gently that you feel like he is a member of your family, making you do all these things.”

Opening up about the waterfall scene where she bathed in a translucent saree, playing with it, Mandakini said, “I did feel a little uncomfortable at first, so I doubled the saree. He told me to double it, so I did. That was it; the shot was done. It (wearing such a cloth) was a big thing for me as I came from a very small place. But even my parents didn’t feel bad or have any objection to those scenes. And I also never felt like I made a mistake because the portrayals were so pure. I didn’t feel any vulgarity anywhere. There was no disgusting feeling at all. The whole movie was that there is no purity. They wanted to make her (Ganga) impure. But they didn’t succeed.”

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‘There was no breastfeeding’: Mandakini dispels the myth

She further discussed the controversial breastfeeding scene and bust the myth behind it. “No, there was no breastfeeding. They had picturised it so well. It’s very difficult for me to explain to you now. But if I explain to you how it was done, you will understand. There wasn’t even a body-double. I myself was in the scene. Nowadays, girls wear low-neck dresses, right? So, I was also wearing something similar, and then, as I held the baby tightly in a certain way, it created the perception. But it wasn’t breastfeeding. That’s what I want to tell everyone,” she maintained.

Mandakini appeared in a few films after Ram Teri Ganga Maili but no film could repeat the same kind of success.