Know the things related to Rajkumar Barjatya on his Birth Anniversary

Anyone who has been in the industry during the last four decades will agree with me that Rajkumar Barjatya and Mushir Alam (the producing team of Mushir-Riaz) were sometimes considered misfits, as they had none of the characteristics that Hindi filmmakers are usually associated with. And it is a very strange and unfortunate coincidence that both of them died on the same day in Mumbai.

Rajkumar Barjatya was one of the three sons of a pioneer of Hindi films, Seta Tarachand Barjatya, the founder of Rajshri Productions, an iconic banner that has been in the business of film production for over fifty years. Ajit Kumar Barjatya and Kamal Kumar Barjatya were the other two sons and the combination of the three brothers, Rajkumar, Ajit Kumar and Kamal Kumar were associated with memorable films such as Babul, Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Hum Saath Saath Hain, Hum Pyar Tumhi Se Kar Baithe, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, Vivaah, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and many more.

Sooraj Barjatya's father Rajkumar was known for his choice of subjects and casting. Whenever a Rajshri film was on the floor, he played an active role.

He was very active till about five years ago. It is hard to say what went wrong with him in recent years when he behaved very strangely. He wore all white, carried a sling bag and attended all major media meets and events and spoke to people randomly and even took notes.

Last time, I met him was at the convocation of Whistling Woods International, where Subhash Ghai and his daughter Meghna Ghai Puri gave him the importance he deserved, gave him a prime seat and even presented him with his diploma to the students. He had become a regular at all events held in five star hotels and was hardly recognised by the new generation.

He was a very good host during outdoor shoots and also a good host for some events organised by Rajshri Productions. He seemed more excited and nervous about the films directed by Sooraj. People talk about meeting him a few days back when he was his normal self. The news about his death during the early hours of 20th February was a big shock to all the industry.

Dilip Kumar's aura has attracted many stars like Dharmendra, Manoj Kumar and Subhash Ghai. But in the early seventies two men who were in the leather business, Mushir and Riyaz, came to Mumbai to make a film.

And as was natural for ardent fans, he launched his banner, M R Productions and produced his first film, ‘Bairaag’ with Dilip Kumar in a triple role. He made another film with his idol in ‘Shakti’, a major film directed by Ramesh Sippy, best known for making ‘Sholay’, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee and Smita Patil in other important roles. He then went on to make big films like ‘Safar’, ‘Apne Paraye’, ‘Commando’, ‘Samundar’, ‘Mehbooba’, ‘Rajput’, ‘Akela’ and ‘Virasat’, without a break.

Musheer was known as the face of MR Productions and had very cordial relations with all the big stars and technicians. However he was not happy with the way the industry was functioning, especially in financial matters and had not been producing films for the last ten years.

Musheer will always be remembered as a calm person who would smile during any crisis.

They don't make filmmakers like Rajkumar Barjatya and Mushir Bhai

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