R.K Studios: Treasure house of Memorabilia- इक दिन बिक जायेगा माटी के मोल

The iconic R.K Studios(RKS), treasure house of Bollywood’s rare memorabilia, has gone for sale माटी के मोल. A slice of Bollywood history is lost forever and RKS’s tryst with cinematic creativity is now a part of folklore. Magic, movies and romance filled RKS is the memory keeper and mausoleum of golden era Bollywood films. It was not just Rajkapoor’s workplace but in reverential terms a “temple” underscoring the spiritual attachment that he felt towards it. R.K Studios was the kingdom of a great showman where iconic films were shot, legendary celebrations were held, a testament to the man’s great vision and love for cinema. Modelled on the great Hollywood studios, R.K Studios was the biggest and most glamorous production center in India and was once considered the ‘Mecca’ of Bollywood. Its emblem where Rajkapoor holds Nargis in one arm and a violin in another was an embodiment of romanticism and glamour.

The monumental monolith R.K Studios got ignited with ‘Aag’, nurtured by ‘Barsaat’, attained trampish totality with ‘Awara’ and found fulfillment in ‘Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai’. The ‘Sangam’ of setback and success in the form of ‘Joker’ and ‘Bobby’ ushered Rajkapoor to the path of enlightenment of the Trinity ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’. The master auteur went further to perceive and purify his passion for film making through ‘Prem Rog’ and ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’.

The studio built onerously was truly a baptism of fire post his directorial debut Aag (1948). Aag backfired and he extinguished the catastrophic fire with a torrential rage Barsaat (1949). What a goldmine he struck with an entire new team of artistes/technicians. Like his character in Aag, he dreamt of building his own film studio where he could give concrete visage to his creative vision. The music of Barsaat earned enough royalties to cover its production costs while whopping cinematic collections were used to purchase 2.2 acres of land in Chembur, a sleepy, distant suburb of Bombay, for erecting a colossus studio. Awara was on the floors when ‘bhumi poojan’ was performed by the patriarch Prithviraj Kapoor. Rajkapoor shot the spectacular dream sequence song ‘Tere Bina Aag Ye Chandni…’ inside the four walls of a studio that still had no roof. 

The true totems of Bollywood in the physical realm are the film studios, where shoots happen, actors learn to become stars, movies and magic are created. The studios in those days were a lucrative business as much glamour and mysticism for the public as its owner. Bollywood's nature of filmmaking is fugacious and its style and practices are evolving with time. The studio template of filmmaking, as it existed in earlier days, has completely become obsolete. The historicity of various events, anecdotes, and happenings that took place in these studios were neither archived formally nor documented for posterity.

R.K Films was in effect a Nargis-Raj Kapoor banner, where she played a much greater role than is widely known and acknowledged: going into the production details, directing on the sets of Jagte Raho, recognizing the potential of the actress Nadira, giving generously when the money was needed and much more. Their off-screen love story was nothing short of a Yash Chopra’s film script. The visitors to RK Studio saw Rajkapoor and Nargis behaving like a couple. Another lesser known gesture of his love for Nargis was the R.K Films’ logo. Rajkapoor’s iconic pose for the Barsaat poster was inspired by Beethoven’s ‘Violin Sonata9’ about a violinist's passionate love for a lady piano player. In this powerful image, a raffish Rajkapoor holds a violin in one hand and a swooning Nargis in the other. Bollywood star Manoj Kumar, however, claimed that the logo was designed by Shri Bal Thackeray.

The gorgeous locales were built to shoot the songs and movies. The studio remained the focal point in the making of all the films of Raj Kapoor from Awara to Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam to Ram Teri Ganga Maili and even thereafter. The debacle of Mera Naam Joker made him pauper and his studio, house, wife’s jewellery everything was mortgaged. Randhir’s directorial debut ‘Kal Aaj Aur Kal’ (1971) too tanked at the box office. Rajkapoor, the showbiz wunderkind, had to re-assess and plan a film for the resurrection of the studio. Like a phoenix he rose and keeping in mind the sensibilities of the emerging audience of the 70s, he produced ‘Bobby’. His conviction paid off and the film went on to become one of the biggest hits of its time. The rest is history.

Raj Kapoor often used to refer to the cottage as his sanctum sanctorum. It housed what was dearest to him. The costumes and props from Raj Kapoor’s films used to be housed in what was once Nargis’s dressing room. As door opens, memories stir, bits and pieces from Raj Kapoor’s life and work lie scattered. A stack of Archie comics, a huge black umbrella used in the unforgettable anthem for lovers Pyar Hua, Iqrar Hua..(Shree 420), Nargis’s elegant long black dress from Awaara drapes a mannequin. Glass-fronted cupboards spilling over with clothes and accessories from his films: Vyjanthimala’s saris from Sangam, Mandakini’s cholis and lehengas from Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Dimple Kapadia’s funky frocks and infamously pesky bikini from Bobby, Padmini’s saris from Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai.

A separate cabinet for the many hats, Raj wore in his films. An octagonal glass vase crammed with gold and silver coins collected from his foreign tours. Then glimpses of the torn coat & oversize shoes and his indigenous tramp figure walk by jauntily singing Mera Joota Hai Japani. Flutes, a mandolin, an accordion, a set of drums and many of the instruments that made the memorable music of his films also have a place here. But the most heart-tuggingly poignant prop is the self-referential life-size clown figure of the joker from Mera Naam Joker. The makeshift museum was a treasure trove till September 2017. During the shoot of a TV show, a devastating inferno gutted down a major part of the studio. All the props and knick-knacks used in various RK Films, costume & jewellery of his leading ladies Nargis/Vyajayanthimala and the grand piano from films Awara/Sangam/Bobby stowed there were devoured by the fire as well. 

The studio witnessed the unfolding of several drama and hurly burly from screen tests, muhurats, story sessions, film shooting, music sittings to hosting cultural delegations from Russia and other nations, celebration of major festivals, jamborees, parties and revelries right up to grieving and mourning the adieu of the Showman. RKS served as the venue for the Kapoors’ boisterous parties and several of their family weddings.

When Raj Kapoor passed away, his sons tried to keep the RKS banner flying. In 1990 Randhir Kapoor completed Henna, Rajiv Kapoor wielded the director’s baton for Prem Granth(1996) and Rishi Kapoor made Aa Ab Laut Chalen(1999), the last film under the RK banner. The studio dropped out of currency and among the last major films to be shot there was Imtiaz Ali’s Jab Harry Met Sejal. All ambitious plans were thwarted when a massive fire broke out in September 2017. They juggled with the idea of renovating the studio with state-of-the-art technology. However, in reality, it isn’t always possible for a phoenix to rise from the ashes.

Many known producers/directors like Dev Anand, Manoj Kumar, Manmohan Desai etc. made frequent use of RKS facilities. Some of the classics films made by outside banners included: Upkar, Roti, Janwar, Brahmachari, Roti Kapda Aur Makan, Shor, Kranti, Chhalia, Aashiq, Amar Akbar Anthony, Kudrat, Bheegi Raat, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Professor, Jeene Ki Raah, Prince, Sacha Jhutha, Zanjeer, Talash, Abdullah, Bahu Begum, Bhoot Bangla, Do Badan, Laila Majnu, Bluff Master, Sharda, etc. The Stage 1 of the studios separated from Stage 2 by a collapsible wall, was one of the largest shooting floors in Asia. It housed the revolving stage where Rishi Kapoor danced on the song “Om Shanti Om” from the film Karz.

Many celebrities shared their best memories of the studio. Rishi, Randhir and Rajiv Kapoor’s schooling happened at RK Studios. They all grew up making mandatory pilgrimage to their father’s temple. Randhir and Rishi got their first screen appearance in Shree 420. Directors such as JP Dutta, Rahul Rawail and Anil Sharma had learnt the intricacies of film direction in the corridors of RKS. There are reams about how Dev Anand would always book a soundstage for every single film that he produced, to how the canteen’s ginger tea and omelette sandwich were a "must-savour." Raza Murd said Raj Sahab’s lifestyle was like that of a Nawab. Actor Kiran Kumar reminisces ‘I gave the first shot of my first film Do Boond Pani on the studio premises. The food at the studio was unmatched.’ R.K Studios was second home for Padmini Kolhapure.

As the iconic studio finally changes hand with Godrej Properties Ltd., cliché as it may sound, it marks the end of an era. From a venue where epic and unforgettable reel romances were made, it will become a place of banal domesticity. It is a strange sense of loss indeed, when places like this, where memories of Bollywood were not only made but also stowed, become memory themselves. It's a toss-up between unviable nostalgia and hard-nosed pragmatism.

The film buffs and fans get a feeling that days of roses and romance getting lost somewhere in the wilderness, only sweet-n-sad memories linger on. Oh God, the razed and redeveloped structure be at least named ‘Godrej RKade’ to keep the memories of the iconic studio alive. Sad end to a great legacy, teaches a lesson, whatever or whoever, however great, mighty, powerful and influential, must end one day. Nothing is permanent in this fast changing world and It’s time to remember the famous RK refrain, “The show must go on.”

The magnificent monolith is gone,
The myriad memories will linger on….