AUR KITNA MAAROGE RAJ KAPOOR KI MAHAAN HASTI KO ?

As I am writing this piece with a heavy heart , a group of men and women are preparing to demolish the last signs of the greatness of Raj Kapoor - ALI PETER JOHN

The cottage he had built more than 50 years ago and simply called 'Deonar Cottage' is about to be demolished in the most crude and cruel manner.

And with this dastardly act of some human being will come down a legendary house of a legendary man whose story is a part of the history of Cinema and cannot be taken away by the petty deeds of the true men and women who are not even fit to tie the laces of his shoes.

Raj Kapoor had build 'Deonar Cottage' after he had built R.K Studios when he was only 23 years old.

For him , his studio came first and his bungalow was his home for his family. He lived in Deonar Cottage but same all his time at R.K. Studios which he called ' Mera mandir'.

He made some of the greatest films at his studio and found solace in his house and had some of his biggest National and International parties at his studio.

R.K. Studios grew into a landmark in Bombay and no one who visited Bombay and was interested in Cinema could leave Bombay without having a look at his dream studio.

He had trained his son to treat his studio like a divine place and they followed his teachings till he died in 1987....

It was at his funeral that his son Randhir , Rishi and Rajiv took an oath on his dead body that they would make one film each every year in honour of their father.

Randhir made 'Henna' , Rishi made 'Aa ab laut chalein' and Rajiv made 'Prem granth' , but the films didn't do well and all the three sons forgot their oath and R.K stopped making films.

The sons were not even capable of looking after their father's grand studio and they first reduced the large studio to just two floors which were air conditioned but the filmmakers for reasons best known to them refused to shoot at R.K studios and the three brothers were very bitter and were mulling over selling the studio , a decision which sent shock waves throughout the industry but before they could change anything about the studio, a huge fire engulfed it and every little thing associated with history of R.K studios was burnt in a large fire and there was nothing or very little left of R.K.Studios.

And then even as admirers of Raj Kapoor were wondering about what the sons of Raj kapoor were doing about their father's prestigious studio, the son had sold the entire studio to the Godrej properties and within months there was a massive residential complex in the place of R.K Studios.

And the only thing that was the emblem of R.K studios showing Nargis lying in the lap of Raj Kapoor holding a violin in his hands.

On the day Rj Kapoor died , Baal Thackerey and many other political leaders had sworn to have a statue of Raj Kapoor in the circle outside R.K studios, but it is more than three decades since the showman died and there is no statue to commemorate him but a statue of Shivaji Maharaj.

And only a month ago when the pandemic was on in full swing, some film celebrities and some politicians got together and decided to have a chowk named after Mr. Surinder kapoor whose only contribution to Indian Cinema was that he made some small films and gave the industry sons like Bony Kapoor , Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor and daughter-in-law like Sri Devi.

I know this industry has a very short memory and has forgotten some of the greatest legends , but how could it do what it has done to the greatest showman of the main cinema.

But let them do what they will ,Raj kapoor tha maker of legendary and classic films will always be remembered for his films and not for the studios he built or the bungalows and cottage he had built. Legends live in the hearts of people, not in massive studios and palatial cottages.

AE INSAAN KAB TAK BEREHAM BANTE RAHOGE ? EK DIN TOH VAHAAN KAHIN DOOR TUMKO TUMHARE KARTOOTON KE HISAAB TOH DENA PADEGA NA. PHIR KYA JAWAAB DOGE ? ALLAH, BHAGWAAN, JO BHI HAIN VOH TUMHEIN MAAF KAREIN AUR JALDI SE TUMHE SAHI RAAH DIKHA DEIN.