MUMBAI MIRROR (August 31, 2018)

The President of the Mumbai Congress, Sanjay Nirupam, on Thursday, in a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis suggested that the iconic RK Studios, gutted in a fire and now put up for sale, should be acquired by the state government instead of a private buyer at prevailing market rates and be converted into a film museum. “For the Kapoor family, this is surely more of an emotional loss than a financial one. Over the past few decades, the people of Mumbai too have developed an emotional bond with the studio,” Nirupam reasoned, adding that this would serve the dual purpose of preserving an important part of our country’s cinematic history, culture and heritage while generating revenue for the government.

Located in Chembur, R K Studios was founded by Raj Kapoor in 1948 and ironically the first film to be shot there was R K Films’ Aag (right). Seventy years later, a fire engulfed the premises on September 16, 2017. Some of the other memorable films made under the RK Films banner which were shot there include Barsaat, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hain, Awaara, Shri 420, Boot Polish, Jagte Raho, Mera Naam Joker, Ram Teri Ganga Maili and Satyam Shivam Sundaram. It had preserved all the costumes used in these films.

After the fire last year, the Kapoor family had cited financial crunch as their inability to restore and revive the studio and announced its sale recently.