Sadhna and Rajendra Kumar are among the legendary actors of India. Kumar made his film debut in 1949 with the film Patanga, while Sadhna entered Bollywood in 1960 with the film Love In Shimla. Both had spectacular careers and several opportunities to work together. There are many stories about their friendship that have surfaced over the decades. One such interesting anecdote was shared by Annu Kapoor on his radio show. He narrated an incident when Kumar convinced Sadhna to break her rules for the benefit of their movie.
Reportedly, Annu Kapoor shared an incident from the time when Sadhna and Rajendra Kumar were working on Mere Mehboob in 1963. The film was produced and directed by Harnam Singh Rawail. When the movie was being made, Kapoor claimed that the production on the set moved very slowly, despite the director’s desire for the movie to wrap up on schedule. Amid this chaos, the director faced yet another issue as the lead actress, Sadhna, refused to work on Sunday. The director was at a loss about what to do in such a scenario.
As per reports, the director was aware that only Rajendra Kumar could convince Sadhna; therefore, he went to the actor for assistance. When HS Rawail spoke to Kumar about this, he assured him and asked him to calm down. Later, he went to Sadhna and said, “Papa, kya karte ho yaar.. Chalo na Sunday ko bhi shoot karte hain (Papa, what are you doing… Let’s shoot on Sunday as well)." Upon Kumar’s insistence, Sadhna agreed and broke her rule of not working on Sunday.
Later, when the film was eventually released, it became a super hit among the audience. The film also starred Ashok Kumar, Nimmi, Pran, Johnnie Walker, and Ameeta and was shot against the backdrop of the Aligarh Muslim University and the city of Lucknow.
Apart from Mere Mehboob. The duo worked together on Arzoo and Aap Aye Bahar Ayee. Reportedly, while working on Arzoo, Rajendra Kumar took half of his remuneration so that Sadhna could be cast in the film. It was yet another hit for the duo.
