'I don't see what the fuss was about.'
Conrad Rooks' adaptation of Herman Hesse's cult novel Siddhartha, which was released in 1972, is best remembered for Simi Garewal's topless sequence which caused a furore.
Recalling the episode of her career as "baffling", Simi tells Subhash K Jha, "The scene is organic to the plot and not there for titillation. Of course, it took a lot of convincing from the director before I agreed. But once I did, there were no second thoughts, and certainly no regret."
There was a huge controversy surrounding Siddhartha when Simi sued a magazine for printing her bare torso on the cover.
"I guess that was a mistake," Simi reflects.
"I overreacted. By drawing attention and subconsciously fanning the controversy, I ended up having flocks of people watching the film for all the wrong reasons. But today, Siddhartha is on the curriculum of several major universities in the US. That really makes me feel good. We made the film with our heart and soul. It was a unique experience."
Conrad Rooks' film about spiritual awakening featured Shashi Kapoor as a pin-up boy of the ascetic world.
Simi recalls meeting her Siddhartha co-star after many years. "I can't believe I met Shashi Kapoor after many years. By then, Shashi had become a recluse. He was so warm to me! When I told him I hadn't seen him for decades, he told me he doesn't miss my talk show Rendezvous With Simi Garewal ever. I didn't know there were so many people who still remembered the film."
"Shashi called himself a cradle-snatcher because according to him, I was just a baby when he did Siddhartha with me."
Simi is still delighted by the experience.
"I've worked with masters like Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor and K A Abbas. Conrad Rooks was an altogether different experience. He got a cast and crew that was focused on Buddhism. We believed in what he was doing."
"And how wonderful that I got to work with Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer Sven Nykvist! He photographed the film and me so beautifully. Do you know Siddhartha was shot at the bird sanctuary in Bharatpur? It was supposed to be made with Amitabh Bachchan instead of Shashi Kapoor."
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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