JAB RAJ KAPOOR MERE GAON KE SCHOOL MEIN AAKAR JESUS PAR EK PLAY DEKHI THI

Dhundiram Govind Phalke ( Dadasaheb ) saw his first film when he was in his early 20s . It was a film called " The life of Christ" which inspired him to make his own film , "Raja Harishchandra" and the film marked the birth of Indian cinema- Ali Peter John

There were many other films made in India and inspired by the life of Jesus Christ , but none of them could touch the Hollywood films like "King of Kings" and a recent realistic film made on his life and death.

Raj Kapoor was always impressed by the life of Christ, but could only touch on some aspects of the life of Christ .

His masterpiece , "Mera Naam Joker" was a disaster at the box office and he was in both a financial and mental mess and spent most of his time drinking.

It was while he was in this state that a friend close to him told him about a live performance based on the Passion of Christ presented by the Holy Family Church in Chakala, opposite the Mohan Studio and K Asif Studio .

Raj Kapoor was eager to watch the play and asked his team to make arrangement for him to see the play titled " The Passion Play"

He made sure that he didn't drink that evening and was there on the ground where the play was being performed as a part of the Lenten season during which Christians observe 40 days of penance , absence and constant prayer .

The Showman reached the venue before time and sat through the entire play in English in rapt attention . He was fully engrossed in the play and did not even show any interest in drinking or eating.

The play got over at around midnight and he called the organisers and actors and congratulated them and told them that he would never be able to direct a play like the one he had just experienced .

He was particularly impressed with the actor who played Jesus Christ . The actor was an amateur stage actor called Sabu ( Sebastian) Rebello . Raj Kapoor showerd praises on Sabu and asked him to meet him at R K Studios without letting him know what he had in mind for him .

In the meanwhile , Raj Kapoor had asked K A Abbas to write a script for him to save him from the financial disaster of making "Mera Naam Joker".

Abbas took just three days to write the script Raj Kapoor wanted desperately. And the coincidence was that the script Abbas wrote had a very strong Christian background.

It was the story of the daughter of a rich fisherman from Goa called Jack Braganza whose daughter , Bobby falls in love with Raju,the son of a rich businessman.

It was while Raj Kapoor was planning the making of Bobby that he remembered Sabu Rebello who he had immensely liked in his role as Jesus.

There could be no role for Sabu in Bobby , but Raj Kapoor was a master of his craft and he created a role for Sabu . He played Joseph , the servant of the Braganza family.

If you closely watch the introduction scene between Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in Bobby , you will see Sabu seeng Rishi and then calling out to Mrs Braganza ( Durga Khote) and that is from where the drama in Bobby began .

Sabu was not only given a role, but was also appointed as the adviser to Raj Kapoor for all the Christian scenes and dialogues and costumes in the film

It was Bobby that brought in lakhs of Christians to watch their first Hindi film .

Raj Kapoor always had a soft corner for Christians. David Abraham though a Protestant was one of his best friends who he even cast in a title role .

All his drivers and cooks at his Devnar Cottage and at R K and during on his shootings were Christians to a large extent.

KYA HINDU, KYA MUSALMAN KYA ISAAHI RAJ KAPOOR KE LIYE SAB INSAAN THE