Bella Jaisinghani (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 17, 2017)

Hindi cinema's famous showman Raj Kapoor constructed R K Studios in Chembur in 1950, reportedly with profits earned from his first hit picture, Barsaat in 1949.

This sprawling four-acre campus also served as the headquarters of his film company, RK Films, which had been founded two years earlier in 1948. His first film as independent director was Aag.

Raj Kapoor reportedly shot all his pictures after 1950 here at RK, beginning with the famous dream sequence of Awara to Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Kal Aaj Aur Kal, Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Prem Rog. Shree 420 and Sangam were also filmed in studio.

Over the decades, the fortunes of RK Studios peaked as hundreds of popular movies, not just those under the home banner, were shot here. Studio representative Kishore Darekar said on Saturday, “Manmohan Desai shot all his pictures here. Newer RK productions such as Henna, Ram Teri Ganga Maili and Aa Ab Laut Chalein were filmed here.“

As time passed, private bungalows and outdoor locations became more economically viable and a popular option to shoot rather than creating lavish expensive sets in film studios. The family stopped making films a few years after Raj Kapoor's death. Television shows do continue to rent the space, though.