THE KISS THAT “ROCKED”TWO COUNTRIES

Ali Peter John

The excitment could be seen and felt from right outside ,on the main road. There was a large crowd near the gate of the Rajkamal Studio , built and owned by Dr V.Shantaram , one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and who had started his life as a “Coolie”carrying cameras and other heavy equipment from one floor to another and form one studio to another .

Excitement was not new to the studio which had been witness to some of the greatest events and happenings in the world of hindi and marathi films . But , today, was an event which happened only once in a way . Prince Charles the handsome son of Queen Elizabeth and heir to the throne who was on his first visit to Bombay , was to make his presence at the studio felt according to plans made for him.Those days , taking a celebrity to a film studio was a part of the itinerary of these celebrities and Rajkamal Studio,RK Studio, Mehboob Studio and some other big studios where shootings with stars was happening was a way of life for the officials of the government of Maharashtra…….

Prince Charles was to arrive at 3.pm , but Dr Shantaram who was very particular about time was at the gate and supervising things for the arrival of the Prince . He was looking dashing in his “bandh gala suit “with his usual cap made of material only he knew about . He was in his late seventies, but was as active as ever.Outside his house which was part of the Studio , in the balcony were his three wives and other women of the family . And in the Studio , on one of the floors there was the shooting of a film called “Ahista Ahista”on in full swing and shooting for it were stars like Shammi Kapoor , Nanda and the young team of Kunal Kapoor , son of Shashi Kapoor and Padmini kolhapure , who had already made it as a star…..

The convoy of the Prince entered the gate at 3.pm sharp and Dr Shantaram looked at his all-silver wrist watch and smiled before running to greet the Prince who was all smiles when he saw Dr Shantaram . He must have done his homework very well …..

Dr Shantaram had given instructions to his team on what had to be done .He then led the Prince and his team towards the place where the stars were asked to stand .He first Introduced the Prince to Shammi Kapoor who was playing his second innings and was busy playing father’s roles. Dr Shantaram told the Prince that there was no dancing star like Shammi Kapoor in hindi films and Shammi immediately touched Dr Shantaram’s feet.The Prince embraced Shammi and moved on led by Dr Shantaram . The photographers(there was no electronic media then ) and the journalists were all excited ……

People wondered where Padmini was and they were in for a big surprise . She was at the gate from which the Prince had to enter to reach the set where the shooting was on …..

The Prince was about to enter , when Padmini came up from nowhere as it were and took the Prince , Dr Shantaram and the crowd by shock for a few moments when she planted a kiss on the cheek of the Prince.It all happened so fast that even the photographers didn’t get a chance to click proper pictures. The only photographer who got the right click was my photographer , Mr.P.D.Jagtap , who was known for his being very slow and next day Jagtap was famous as all the daily newspapers carried the photograph he had taken on their front pages.

The “kiss “had become a subject for discussion in every place in India and Great Britain . When Padmini was asked how and why she did it, she blushed pink and smiled brightly and said ,”I did it”.

This happened forty years ago, in March 1980 . Today , so much has changed . Where Dr Shantaram stood and ruled, there is his “samadhi”(Memorial). I remember how the Prince had asked him is all the women in the balcony were his wives and Dr Shantaram had laufed aloud and said ,”not all , only three “. I also remember how excited Dr Shantaram was when the Prince agreed to see some of his songs and scenes from his films.

Shammi Kapoor and Nanda have become a part of history . The prince went back to London and within months got married to Diana who was called the most beautiful woman in the world and who died young under mysterious and tragic circumstances . Padmini is the mother of Priyank who made his debut as an actor some months ago.Kunal is looking after Prithvi Theatre and most of the women on that balcony have walked away from life .

And the only witness to all that happened on that afternoon is the Rajkamal Studio which is kept in just the state it was, except that major parts of it havev made way for several apartments . If this is change , so be it .