Following the failure of his magnum opus Mera Naam Joker and seemingly in no mood to take chances, Kapoor directed this sentimental saga of young lovers thwarted by families embroiled in a feud over class status. The Oedipal conflict that resides in the filmmaker’s earlier work is updated to become a generation gap. However much Bobby may have been calculated to reflect the era’s fascination with youth culture, Kapoor seems to have included personal touches as well, drawing details from his life, especially his infatuation with Nargis. The film made stars of its two young leads: Dimple, who courted controversy by wearing a bikini in the film, and Rishi Kapoor, Raj’s son, who would become a major matinee idol in the 1970s.