The magic of “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” and two Kathmandu girls

On the sets of Dev Anand’s ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna,’ two Kathmandu girls lived the Bollywood glamour and created lifelong memories.

“It literally stole my breath away,” Gerda Anita Weise, a Swiss national who grew up in Kathmandu, remarked. “I was 17 years old when Dev Anand told me he wanted me in his film.”

Meena Singh, 15, was ecstatic when Dev Anand asked her parents for permission to cast her in his film.

The two Kathmandu girls were chosen by Dev Anand to star in his 1971 Bollywood film ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna,’ which was an instant blockbuster upon release, with its chart-topping song ‘Dum Maro Dum’ becoming famous. The girls immersed themselves in the beautiful world of Bollywood for ten weeks.

At the time, Bollywood films had already captured Kathmandu’s imagination through the screens of its cinema halls, and the actors in the films were well-known among Kathmandu Valley residents. Dev Anand’s distinctive gestures and signature scarf and cap, Mumtaz’s dance skills, and Prem Chopra’s villainy were all well-known to Kathmandu audiences; they also knew Mehmood Junior and Rajendra Nath as seasoned comedians, and Zeenat Aman as an up-and-coming actress.

When Dev Anand and his filming crew arrived in Kathmandu, the city was engulfed in Bollywood mania. Dev Anand was authorized to shoot in the heart of the Valley by King Mahendra, who pledged him of his full support. Kathmandu residents flocked to the filming locations in droves to witness the enchantment blossoming in their own backyards. The ten weeks of filming were “one gigantic party,” and Kathmandu was “agog with excitement, living day and night with the phenomenon dubbed ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna,'” as Dev Anand writes in his memoir, “Romancing with Life.” The shooting had a lasting impact on Kathmandu’s mentality, as evidenced by how memories of the incident have been passed down the generations.

When Dev Anand approached Singh and Weise, two young teens who were well versed in Bollywood films, it was only natural for them to be awestruck. Indeed, the pleasures and surprises of interacting with Dev Anand and other stars, being insiders to the filming process and making friendships with the actors, and experiencing celebrity-like status were much deeper in them as actors in the film. Despite the fact that they moved on to pursue careers other than acting, their experiences became inextricably linked to their identities.

Surprising Dev Anand

Many local performers played minor roles in Dev Anand’s film. However, other actors had unique roles, such as Ram Krishna Prajapati and his brother Shyam Krishna, who played Dronacharya’s (Prem Chopra’s) aids. Singh and Weise were cast as Jasbir’s (Zeenat Aman’s) friends, starring beside her for the majority of the film, including the classic ‘Dum Maro Dum.’ Both Singh and Weise recall the electrifying moment Dev Anand arrived in front of them in his film persona. Singh claims that his inquiries took him to Angur Baba Joshi, the then-headmistress of Padma Kanya Campus, an all-girls institution in New Delhi.

“Back then, Padma Kanya was known for having brilliant and attractive girls, so Dev Anand asked Angur Baba Joshi to assist him identify some artists from her college,” Singh recalled. “I was frequently involved in musical and theatrical performances.” I had led Padma Kanya Campus in a large inter-college opera competition just before Dev Anand’s entrance. Our team won, and King Mahendra and Queen Ratna presented me with a gold medal and other prizes in a lavish celebration. This made me a favorite of our principal, Angur Baba Joshi, at Padma Kanya. She was also a dear friend of my father’s, and she provided Dev Anand our phone number.”

The phone rang at Singh’s house not long after that. Her mother answered the phone, and the caller inquired about her husband in English.

She said, “He’s away.”

The man said, “Oh, this is Dev Anand speaking.”

For a long time, the mother’s heart raced as she heard the name of the famed actor on the other end of the phone. However, Singh recalled a time when eve-teasing and bluff calls were frequent, and she had received many of them herself. As a result, the mother quickly regained control.

“Look, some bluffer claiming to be Dev Anand,” Singh remembers his mother saying as she put down the phone.

The phone rang a few more times, but her mother ignored it. Dev Anand finally managed to persuade the mother that he was Dev Anand from Bombay by speaking in Hindi. He gave her husband a message. King Mahendra’s father, a member of the Rastriya Panchayat, had accompanied him on his excursion outside of the Valley. Dev Anand invited them to supper at Hotel Soaltee after he returned, and he asked him to let Singh star in his movie.

“My mother was completely opposed to the notion,” Singh recalled after going home that night. “‘No. She should not take part in the movie. She said it would interfere with her education. “Even our King has granted permission to shoot this film,” my father, who is a staunch follower of King, stated. So, why should we not back him up?’ “And she was persuaded.” Weise, on the other hand, was brought to Dev Anand’s attention in a more dramatic way. The actor himself, just by coincidence, among the crowds that had assembled to watch the filming, saw her.

Weise was three years old when her architect father, Robert Weise, arrived in Kathmandu with his family in 1957 on a Swiss aid mission and opted to stay. She was born and raised in Kathmandu, where she attended St Mary’s School in Jawalakhel, where she learned Nepali and developed a passion for Bollywood movies. She was drawn to the ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ shootings, just like hundreds of other Kathmandu residents, and was a regular at the Ekantakuna location where the song ‘Kanchha Re Kanchha Re’ was shot. Dev Anand observed her in the throng and wondered why a young white girl was so interested in his shooting.

He called her into his improvised office on the job site one day and offered her his packed lunch. Weise recreates the following exchange:

“I see you here every day.” How?”

“I was born and raised in Kathmandu. Despite being a foreigner, I am Nepali in soul. “How can I be anywhere else when a shooting like this has happened here?”

“I want you to be in my film.”

“What part will I take? I don’t want to play any role; it has to be something extraordinary.”

“No, no, it’s a great part. I’ll assign you a unique role.”

Dev Anand’s security led her to the actor the next day.

“You will accompany the protagonist and play the part of her buddy. “You’ll have to dance with her in several scenes,” he added.

“Ok. That’s a great idea. However, I must first consult with my parents.”

Her mother, on the other hand, flatly refused, fearing that Weise would fall in with the wrong crowd during the hippy shootouts.

Initially, her father also refused.

“Dev Anand is here, and he approached me,” she insisted.

Her mother eventually relented.

“I grant you permission, but you must leave immediately following the shooting.” Around there, many hippies consume marijuana. If Dev Anand sends a vehicle to pick me up and drop me off after the shooting, I’ll be OK,” she said.

Dev Anand consented to these terms.

Bollywood’s enchantment

Weise was a big movie buff as a kid. She had observed the power of Bollywood movies to transport Kathmandu residents to a magical realm on the screens of the Jaya Nepal Cinema Hall and the Ranjana Film Hall.

“I’d see many simple women transfixed to the theater screens who undoubtedly toiled in their fields all day and had a rough existence,” she remarked. “However, they were whisked away from the movie screen to another world of music and dances.” They sobbed and laughed heartily while watching movies. “She observed the locals converge to view the shots of ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna,’ and she was mesmerized by watching the magic live.

“Everywhere the gunfire was, there was a crowd,” she claimed. “Back then, there was no television or other forms of entertainment like there are now, so people went to see movies.” Mumtaz, like Dev Anand, was well known. ‘Oho!’ exclaimed the residents, surprised. We used to see them in movies, and now we’re seeing them in real life.”

Weise and Singh became key players in the production of the Bollywood magic that the audience was witnessing. They had access to behind-the-scenes stories of the filmmaking as members of the team, including if the actors smoked hashish throughout the production.

“Many people close to me were curious if we smoked marijuana in the songs ‘Dum Maro Dum’ and ‘Phoolon Ka Taron Ka,'” Singh explained. At the time, Kathmandu was teeming with hippies, and the film included actual hippies. Another batch of film team, which included Dev Anand, Zeenat Aman, and others, included me and other Nepali performers. Hippies smoked genuine hashish. However, Zeenat and the other performers smoked the chillum by stuffing bits of cigarette tobacco in it.” Weise has happy memories of her time on set, including filming the last scene in which Jasbir dies of a drug overdose.

“We all had to cry, and we were given drops to make our eyes water.” We were all laughing despite the fact that it was intended to be heartbreaking. The funniest part was that Zeenat was laughing as well. “Dev Anand gave up and modified the whole thing,” she says in ‘Navketan,’ a novel on Dev Anand by Indian author Sidharth Bhatia.

It was not only a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these ladies to work with Bollywood stars; the closeness they created with them added to their beautiful experience.

“We were all ecstatic to be on set with the celebs,” Singh added. “In addition, the local actors and stars formed a solid friendship. Both Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman were quite pleasant. The Nepalis and Zeenat Aman spoke for hours behind the sets, and Dev always addressed everyone by their first names.”

From the celebration Dev Anand held for the entire film crew when Mumtaz won the Filmfare Award for best actor for the film ‘Khilona,’ to the dinner with Prem Chopra, they had opportunities to mingle with Bollywood luminaries off the set. Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, and Mehmood Junior were all quite kind to them.

They spent a lot of time with Zeenat Aman, who was only a few years older than they were, and her mother, who had accompanied her.

“Zeenat was quite pleasant. We were nice and close… She quickly rose to prominence [among Nepali actors]. Singh stated, “She would talk to anyone.” “I also met her mother, who had come to Kathmandu with her.” We proceeded to Zeenat’s Hotel Soaltee room after the shoot. “We’d sit and converse with her mother,” Weise explained.

The ladies’ sensation of being a part of the Bollywood magic was heightened not just by their proximity to the stars, but also by their celebrity-like status, which they shared with the stars.

Fame that never ends

To go to Kasthamandap at Basantapur Durbar Square, where the ‘Dum Maro Dum’ song was being shot, Weise had to walk through crowds who had arrived to observe the shooting.

“People in the audience would reach out and touch me as if I were a movie star,” she explained. “The locals may have mistaken me for a foreign film star after seeing me on the scene.” And the cops had to accompany me through the crowd—as well as other actors. This made me laugh aloud. They’d want my autograph as well.”

The adoration of the crowd didn’t stop after the shootings. She became known as the girl from ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ after the film’s premiere. In addition, she was always recognized by a Nepali or an Indian everywhere she went outside of Nepal.

Singh, too, received a deluge of calls from family and friends who said they’d seen her in the movie. She became a known figure on the streets. “The movie was a super-duper hit after it was out,” she remarked. “For many years following that, people would stare at me and ask whether I was from the ‘Hare Ram Hare Krishna’.”

Weise went back to Switzerland after the shootings. Meanwhile, Singh maintained her education while also starring in two Nepalese films, ‘Mann ko Bandh’ and ‘Kumari,’ before moving on to a new career. However, the fame that ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ brought continues to this day. “People are still ecstatic to meet me today.” Someone introduces me to someone who may or may not recognize me, and they begin singing ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna.’ This happens so frequently that I don’t want to talk about the movie since it’s so embarrassing.”

People have recognized her in the most unexpected locations, which has surprised her. She was browsing over products in a Tibetan-owned shop in California a few years ago when she noticed some ladies staring at her from the corner of her eyes.

“I never imagined something like this happening in locations as far away as California.” The women eventually approached me and informed me that they had seen me someplace. Nevertheless, I did not say anything because I typically avoid discussing it. They eventually discovered the truth and screamed, “Hare Rama Hare Krishna!”

Weise’s personal identity is still linked to the movie. “Right now, I’m based in Australia. My generation has seen or heard of ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna,’ she remarked. “However, their children still remark, ‘This didi was in Hare Ram Hare Krishna.’ Even after all these years, people are still amazed.”

Journalists and authors have approached them with requests to share their stories. Despite their reluctance to talk about their experiences, Weise has given interviews to publications and media, including Navketan.

The magic continues

Singh and Weise’s memories of ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ would be fueled by lasting recognition. However, certain moments have remained as profound impressions throughout the five decades since the film’s shooting and distribution.

They are still astounded by Dev Anand’s work ethic and humility, which they witnessed during the production.

She commented, “I had a lovely experience shooting, and Dev Anand was the most wonderful human being you could imagine.” “A wonderful kind person with a large heart, someone truly unique.” All of the others were fantastic and enjoyable, but Dev was just exceptional.”

Singh recalls one episode in particular as explaining the actor’s work ethic.

“This situation left a lasting impact on me about Dev Anand’s professionalism.” We shot in Bhaktapur. He was wearing a […] orange-colored cap around two days into the shoot. Everyone was ready for the shoot one day, but the cap was missing. Delaying the shoot costs the production a lot of money.

“‘The cap should be there for continuity,’ observed Dev Anand. How could it vanish in the middle of a conversation?’ As a result, the gunfire ceased. He vanished into the crowd and was later discovered by a local wearing the same coloured pants. He had the production unit purchase the jeans and stitch the cap from the material he was wearing. After then, the gunfire began.”

Friendships that have endured are also, what keeps their lovely memories alive.

“Recently, my husband and I were in Bombay, and we had dinner with Zeenat Aman and her kid,” Singh added of their long connection.

Gerda and Singh became close friends as well. When Weise visited Kathmandu in 2019, Singh joined her for dinner at her Thamel home, where they shared recollections from 50 years ago.

Something else has fueled their memories and will continue to do so.

Singh recalled, “Recently, my husband and I were having dinner with a buddy at a restaurant in Mumbai.” “A couple from South India sat at the table next to ours. A friend unexpectedly informed the couple that I had appeared in ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna.’ The South Indian child opened YouTube on her phone and played ‘Dum Maro Dum’ in a matter of seconds. ‘Oh yeah, she is there!’ she cried, her excitement palpable.

Their enchantment is sure to endure as the film, particularly ‘Dum Maro Dum,’ has become legendary throughout generations. “This song is playing in at least one area at any given moment,” Singh recalls, marveling at the song’s continued appeal after five decades.