IFFI 2024, 08: Hounouring icons, late ANR, Tapan Sinha, Mohammed Rafi and RAJ KAPOOR

Doyens and maestros, late Raj Kapoor, Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR), Mohammed Rafi and Tapan Sinha will be honoured with the centenary tribute, in the 100^th year of their birthday at 55th IFFI. The IFFI gala in Goa will celebrate cinematic legends by presenting restored versions of their classic films, throughout its nine-day event. The festival’s opening ceremony on November 20 will pay tribute to these icons, with a special audio-visual presentation that captures their impactful journeys in cinema.

Raj Kapoor was an actor-director, who set-up his own banner, RK films, at the age of 24, directed his debut film Aag, the same year. Barsaat was a huge commercial hit, and introduced late Nimmi to the film-world. He produced and directed evergreen films like Awara, Shree 420, Sangam, Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Prem Rog and Ram Teri Ganga Maili.

As actor, his notable films as actor include Andaz, Sharda, Anari and Nazrana. Although Mera Naam Joker, a 4-hour film, flopped at the box-office when first released, it has now become an iconic movie. Most of his films were written by producer-director Khwaja Ahmed Abbas and the sound was recorded by Alauddin.

Under the RK banner, he let several other directors direct his productions. These include: Raja Nawathe, Amar Kumar, Radhu Karmakar, Prakash Arora, Rahul Rawail. All three sons, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor, directed films too. While Kal Aaj Aur Kal was based, partly and loosely, inspired by the fact that four generations of the Kapoor family worked in films, on his own. He offered the film to his assistant, Rahul Rawail, now known as the director of several hit films of his own. His other assistants, Amar Kumar and Prakash Arora could not achieve the heights that Rahul did, though Raja Nawathe made his mark. Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai was directed by Radhu Karmakar, his cinematographer for decades, and was a success.

After Bobby, he stopped acting in RK films, when he was the director. After his death in 1988, at the early of 63, his sons directed RK productions’ films. The last release under that banner was Aa Ab Laut Chalen, directed by Rishi Kapoor, whom we lost during Covid. A few years ago, the studio was sold for commercial development. 1982 saw Raj Kapoor facing the camera for the last time, in a film Called Vakil Babu. Although he was planning to make a film called Henna when he died, son Randhir Kapoor fulfilled his ambition by stepping in to complete RK’s dream project, Henna (1991).

I am on th extreme right

Bobby remains a period of unimaginable success for yours truly, when he was chosen to voice the sponsored programmes of the film by another icon, radio’s King broadcaster, Ameen Sayani, my mentor and my Guru. I was to do a small role in the film, but that did not happen. Yet, I met Raj Kapoor several times and was present during the shooting of the film for about two weeks. The film and its radio publicity were both runaway hits. The film also introduced Rishi Kapoor in his first adult role and Shailendra Singh as his voice. Several other film-related personalities worked for the first time with Raj Kapoor in Bobby.

Left to right: Ameen Sayani, Shailendra Singh, Ashima Singh (voice) and Siraj Syed (voice). In the console room are recordist M.S. Rane and Brij Mittle (of the Advertising Agency)

He collapsed at the event where he was to receive the DadaSaheb Phalke Award, the highest State honour for any film personality, named after the pioneer of Indian cinema, DadaSaheb Phalke. When he went to Delhi  to receive the honour, in he collapsed during the ceremony and was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi for treatment. After a month of hospitalisation, passed away, due to complications arising from his chronic asthma.

Some months earlier, he was honoured for a life-time award by a publication, in Mumbai, where he managed to deliver a short, speech, which brought tears to the audiences’ eyes, “God has given me a disease under which I have to literally beg for every breath,” he said. And the breaths stopped not much later.

The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) have taken the restoration work to bring classics of these pillars of Indian cinema, back to their visual quality. Their centenary celebrations will be held on November 20, in Panaji, Goa.