Mandakini on meeting Raj Kapoor for Ram Teri Ganga Maili: ‘He said agar tum jeans pehen kar aati toh…’

Best remembered for her role in Raj Kapoor’s 1985 directorial Ram Teri Ganga Maili, actor Mandakini recently made a comeback with a music video which also features her son.
While promoting the music video, Mandakini spoke about her time in the Hindi film industry, and her most popular movie, Ram Teri Ganga Maili.
Mandakini was in her early 20s when she starred in Ram Teri Ganga Maili, and although a mediocre movie, it made Mandakini a household name. In a recent chat with Pinkvilla, Mandakini spoke about meeting filmmaker Raj Kapoor for the first time and said that he was ‘happy’ to see her in an Indian attire.

“I remember he said ‘Agar tum jeans ya kuch aur dress pehen kar aati toh mujhe bilkul pasand nahi aata.’ I was wearing a churidaar. I think it was because he wanted someone homely for the part,” said the actor.
During the conversation, Mandakini also opened up about how often male leads or heroes would decide which female actor they wanted to work with. “Heroines were only used for 3-4 songs, a few romantic scenes and finally in the climax. That was all the work they had in movies at the time. Heroes got the meatier chunk, and often they would only decide who to work with and who to not work with. If they did not like anyone, they would tell the makers, ‘Don’t take this girl.’”
Mandakini was last seen in the 1996 movie Zordaar, post which she quit movies.