Remembering Raj Kapoor: How a 24-year-old became the youngest film director of his time, set up iconic RK Studios

A mention of Raj Kapoor will be incomplete without talking about the iconic RK Studios. Raj Kapoor, thespian, actor, director, producer and showman, made his first movie appearance at the age of 10 in the film Inquilab (1935). Son of actor Prithviraj Kapoor, hwas also a clapper-boy for the famous Bombay Talkies during the late 1930s. Raj Kapoor’s big break came with the lead role in the 1947 film Neel Kamal opposite Madhubala, which was also her first role as a leading lady. The actor was to soon graduate to become a filmmaker and in 1948, at the age of 24, Raj Kapoor established his own studio, RK Films, and became the youngest filmmaker of his time. Raj Kapoor’s directorial debut was Aag starring himself, Nargis, Kamini Kaushal, and Premnath.

Raj Kapoor was not ‘just’ another starkid with social leverage for being born into the Kapoor khandan. His work — which gave voice to a young nation and its many challenges — has withstood the test of time.

Raj Kapoor’s directorial debut was a flop but it set him on a path to make history. After Aag, the bad patch didn’t last long and Andaz (1949), which was followed by the blockbuster Barsaat that released later that year.

It is said that RK musical blockbuster Barsaat also gave RK Studios its famous emblem, depicting a raffish Raj Kapoor with violin in one hand and Nargis on the other. He loved music and he loved Nargis and the RK logo combines these twin passions to create an immortal moment for Hindi screens.

Rishi Kapoor himself reminisced about his father’s affection towards Nargis Dutt, the leading lady of a number of his films. Rishi, in his autobiography, shared about his father’s relationship with Nargis and how she was immortalized by the RK Studios logo.

Raj Kapoor joined his father’s Prithvi Theatres in 1944, which is addressed as his “best training ground”. He worked there as an assistant production manager and art director. He trained his own sons — Rishi, Randhir, and Rajiv Kapoor — at his studio.

Even Shashi Kapoor interned at RK Studios as he played the younger version of Raj Kapoor in Aag and Awaara.

Rishi Kapoor wrote in his memoirs Khullam Khulla, “For me there could have been no film institute better than RK Studios. The language, the stories and the discussions at home were almost entirely about films. The studio was like a temple for us, although we were not allowed to visit a set when a shoot was in progress.”

After Awaara, Raj Kapoor shot most of his movies at RK Studios, including Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Prem Rog and Ram Teri Ganga Maili, his last directorial venture. The iconic songs like “Ghar aaya mera pardesi” in Awaara to Padmini Kolhapure’s “Yeh galiyan yeh chaubara” in Prem Rog were also shot in the RK Studios.

The iconic studio was sold by the Kapoors a few years ago after a massive fire destroyed a portion of it.