BOMBAY TIMES (March 27, 2020)

Clockwise from above: Prem and Ramanand Sagar; Ramayan; Barsaat

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 28, 2019)

On October 25, 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh sought urgent military aid as invaders from Pakistan neared Srinagar. Governor-General Mountbatten, who chaired the Defence Committee of the Cabinet, refused to oblige, unless he acceded, arguing they could only defend Indian soil. The Maharaja agreed, and at 2 am, left for Jammu in a private aircraft from a hastily-built tarmac.

The following day, on Jawaharlal Nehru’s insistence, Sheikh Abdullah seconded the Instrument of Accession on behalf of the people, and on October 27, the first of three Dakotas left from Delhi for Srinagar, signalling the start of the IAF operations. “There were no lights, the tarmac was broken, Biju Patnaik (former Orissa CM), who was piloting the craft, circled the airfield twice before landing. Immediately, a crowd of refugees, anxiously waiting since three days, rushed towards the plane,” recounts filmmaker Prem Sagar, who was on that historic flight.

His mother, Leelavati, was four months pregnant and his father, Ramanand Sagar, was lugging a huge trunk, ignoring the cries of “No luggage.” Enraged, Patnaik kicked the trunk, thinking there was gold inside, but instead out flew a sheaf of papers. “He learnt that this refugee was a novelist, poet, dramatist and editor of the Daily Milap whose serialised column, Diary Of A TB Patient (Maut Ke Bistar Se), he had read in the magazine Adab-e-Mashriq. He hugged papaji and the trunk with the unfinished novel on his Partition ordeals, was carried on board,” narrates Ramanand Sagar’s son Prem ji.

In 1949, leaving his wife and five sons in Daryagunj, Delhi, Ramanand ji relocated to Mumbai to try his luck in films. He moved into the attic in actor Sajjan’s home on actor-filmmaker Prithviraj Kapoor’s insistence. Having started out as a stage manager at Prithvi Theatre and going on to direct a few plays, he’d impressed the senior Kapoor who told his son, Raj, if anyone could write him a perfect love story, it was Ramanand Sagar. “Raj ji walked through the jungle that was Marve to meet papaji who narrated a story which had all the nine rasas and moved Nargis ji to tears when she heard it a few days later,” reminisces Prem ji.

The film, written by Ramanand ji, opened in 1949 to a rapturous welcome. “Barsaat earned Raj ji over Rs 1 crore with which he bought his studio while papaji bought a 640-square-feet flat in Mahim with the Rs 7000 he got as remuneration. We moved in with my mother, four brothers and a sister born on the day he’d signed the film,” says Prem ji, adding that a special screening of Barsaat was organised by his children at a suburban nightclub after the launch of his book, An Epic Life: Ramanand Sagar, in Mumbai on December 17. “What a film! The performances, Shankar-Jaikishan’s score, Shailendra’s lyrics and Jal Mistry’s camerawork were unforgettable!” he raves.

However, despite a string of super hits, including the Dharmendra-Mala Sinha spy thriller Aankhen, it is the TV series, Ramayan (1988), that has become synonymous with Ramanand Sagar’s name. “He was born Chandramouli Chopra. Chandramouli is another name for Shiva, who is believed to have developed and narrated the Ramayana to his wife Parvati. After papaji was adopted by his maternal grandmother, he was rechristened Ramanand Sagar and once again the choice of name was symbolic. Many sadhus had prophesized that papaji was born to tell Ram’s story in the electronic era,” points out Prem ji, recounting that during the shoot of Charas (1976), a man entered a café on the border of Switzerland and France with a box, which turned out to be a colour TV. “That day, while still a successful filmmaker, papaji decided he’d bring Ramayan, Krishna and Durga to TV. The decision brought much ridicule and no financiers. So, as a test marketing exercise, we made Vikram Betaal, a mythological series for DD based on Betaal Pachisi, on a budget of Rs 1 lakh, shooting an episode a day. It was telecast at 4.30 pm on Sunday and kids stopped going out to play and markets closed. Buoyed by its success, Ramayan followed and with a viewership of 82 per cent entered the Limca Book of Records as the world’s most viewed mythological series.” says Prem ji.

After Ramanand ji contracted tuberculosis, no one expected him to live, not even the hakim treating him. “But he was cured in a few months. When the surprised hakim visited the sugarcane field where papaji stopped daily to eat ganna, he discovered a 12-feet cobra twined around some stalks and believed it was the snake’s poison in the plants that cured papaji. He used it to make new medicines which hopefully cured more TB patients. Papaji went on to tell his Ram kahani which brought anand to many,” Prem ji signs off.

As told to Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 18, 2019)

I made my debut in 1995 with Barsaat, and the first shot I gave for the film was when Shekhar Kapur was directing it. It was a huge, arena-like set, where fights happen. I had to walk down the stairs calmly, with a smile on my face. However, later Shekhar had to choose between Barsaat and Bandit Queen, so Rajkumar Santoshi came on board as a director and that first scene didn’t make the final cut.

Raj made Tina (fellow debutante Twinkle Khanna) and me do some workshops and perform on songs from Andaz Apna Apna to help us open up. He is an amazing writer; I loved the dialogue he wrote for us.

We shot for my introduction sequence on the last day of the shoot, when I broke my leg while riding a horse. We had travelled all the way to London to shoot that sequence. I was on crutches for more than a year-and-a-half after that. I shot for some of the Gupt songs with a broken leg.

For my first film as leading man, we were looking for the title Badal, but we didn’t get the rights. While making my debut, I wasn’t really thinking of my family’s legacy. I never thought of my father as a superstar, he was just pappa to me. And he never made me feel like I had to prove a point or be better than him. He just told me to be myself and work hard.

Technically, my first shot was for Dharam Veer (Manmohan Desai’s 1977 directorial featuring Bobby’s actor-father Dharmendra). One day, dad asked if I’d like to play his character as a child, I instantly agreed. The team got my outfit stitched on the day of the shoot. It was a 30-second role and I had one-line of dialogue, “Yeh baat hai baba, toh yeh lo”. I played a blacksmith’s son and had to use a huge hammer. When I tried to lift it, it was too heavy for me. So, someone on the set made a fake one. I even dubbed for the role myself. Dad was surprised, maybe he had expected me to be nervous.

On our way back home from the set, when I told him, “Pappa, shooting toh kar di par paise toh diye hi nai mujhe”. He smiled and gave me a bundle of Rs 10,000, asking me to give it to my grandmother and to request her to distribute it among all the staff in the house, which I did. It was one of the nicest moments. I also went for the golden jubilee ceremony of the film at a hotel opposite the domestic (Mumbai) airport. I was given a special trophy.

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; October 22, 2019)

Still popular with the ladies, Bobby Deol’s quiet charm and style — long curly hair, glasses and jackets — made him a trendsetter early on in his career. However, somewhere along the way, he disappeared from the scene and is back now, keen to explore his untapped potential as an actor. In a chat with Bombay Times, he tells us about the slip-ups in his career, how he’s coping with the changes in the industry, his upcoming film Housefull 4 and more.

After years of staying away from the limelight, you had to reboot your career a year ago with Race 3, and now, here we are, with another multistarrer, Housefull 4. How is this renewed phase of your career going?
Everybody goes through their own journey. Your life takes a turn at some point or the other. You don’t know if those changes are right or wrong. Eventually, when you realise that you are on the wrong track and if you are sane enough to understand the values that have been imbibed in you by your parents, you get back to your senses. You start getting your focus back. How you cope with the change is what defines you. You learn from your mistakes. If you don’t learn, then you allow the wrong decisions to take you further in the wrong direction. It gets worse. I eventually decided to gear up, change myself and work harder. There’s so much potential in me as an actor. There’s so much more that I can do and offer to the entertainment world. When things don’t go the way you want them to, you start doubting yourself. Are you capable or not? It’s all in your hands. Everyone is capable.

If given a change to undo something, what would be that one thing?
I just wish I was more focused in my life. I wish I knew what competition was and how to face it. I thought everyone has their own space and everyone will get work, but it wasn’t like that. It’s not about being in a rat race; the point is that you need to get work. I have always been a straightforward person. Things like networking and PR, have become a part and parcel of the movie business, which I never indulged in. The world we live in now has become cut-throat. Not that I have become that way, but I do understand that you need to be visible for people to notice that you are interested in working. I am excited that I have changed within the time that I should have. Things are now moving in the right direction. I have become braver. Now, I believe in myself more than I ever did.

Given that you come from a family of movie stars, and huge ones at that, was it ever the case of being too proud to ask for work?
It was never about being too proud to ask for work. Even in those days, if I met a director who I wanted to work with, I would say, let’s work. Now it’s different. You have to be at it. It’s getting more systematic. I never had a PR handling my work, but I have one since the past two years. It’s all about being seen — be it on social media or otherwise. Of course, you also have to also think twice before saying anything on these platforms.

They say it’s a big bad world of movies, and it is especially harder for those who have no industry connection. Do you think that’s changing?
Not just mine, but many kids from the new generation are dying to be a part of the movies, as it’s becoming cleaner and more open. There was a time when people wouldn’t encourage girls to enter films, but that’s changing. People now tutor their kids from childhood, so that they can pursue acting. Also, reality shows are helping children to enter this field. Not everybody can get a chance, but at least some can get noticed.

Govinda once told us that he went wrong by declining films like Gadar Ek Prem Katha, which turned out to be huge hits. He said he couldn’t take up roles that he thought were risky as he didn’t have anyone to fall back on. He said, “Sunny Deol ji is Dharmendra ji’s son. Unkey parivar mein aadha dozen stars hai. Main toh Govinda hoon, aur mujhe apni puri familyko dekhna hain, so it is difficult for me to take risks...”
Every actor decides to do roles, which they think will work, so I don’t believe in that. When you are out there, you are nobody’s son. If the public enjoys your work, you will survive. I don’t agree or disagree with Govinda. He is a great actor. I believe every individual goes through their own journey and makes their own decisions.

Given your father and brother’s image and legacy, do you think the Deol family often gets stereotyped as action stars and are overlooked for other roles?
At the end of the day, the public’s love is your biggest award. Till date, my father hasn’t got a Best Actor award, but if you see his films, every performance is different, and they keep lingering in your mind. The amount of hits he has given in the first 25 years of his career, very few have managed to. He is one of the most successful actors here. As far as stereotyping is concerned, it happens to everyone, like the way it has happened to my father and brother. That’s why I avoided doing action films when I entered the industry. But because of my family name and image, I ended up getting roles that were action oriented. My love stories didn’t do as well.

What made you choose multi-starrers and big-ticket films like Race 3 or a Housefull 4? Does it feel comfortable to be a part of an ensemble cast?
I am glad I have started my career again and I am getting to be a part of these films. They give me an opportunity to do roles that defy my image. It is also a big platform for me because I want to be noticed by the new generation. They haven’t seen much of my work and I need them to know that there is an actor called Bobby Deol. When you take a break for five years, life moves on. New movies come, you have no PR and no one sees you or talks about you. I can now test my capability as an actor and do roles that I otherwise wouldn’t have the guts to do.

Housefull 4 has its own brand of humour. A comedy film is also a tricky genre, it is all about whether the audience gets the humour bang on, or not...
It is tough to play characters in a movie like Housefull 4, because unless the script is not written well, the actors can look silly doing it. I feel the USP of the franchise is Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh. They have an amazing chemistry. They have done so many films together and have known each other since long. They have a whacky sense of humour on and off the set, and they constantly entertain us.

Your curly hair, dark glasses (which came to be known as Barsaat glasses after your debut film) and leather jackets, made you a trendsetter back then. You’ve always a had a lot of female fans swooning over you, however, you strangely seem unaware of it...
I get embarrassed when I hear this. I didn’t think that my hair or what I wore would become a rage. I just wanted my hair to be long as I loved long hair. I am very chilled out, so I liked the kind of unkempt hair that rock stars and musicians sported. Even in my school days, I would want to keep it long and my teachers would tell me to chop it off. During my debut film Barsaat (1995), I was into sunglasses and I still am. I wanted to wear my personal purple sunglasses for the film, but director Rajkumar Santoshi said, ‘Yeh mat pehennna’. I showed it to our cinematographer Santosh Sivan, and he said, ‘Wear it’. I did it and that’s how that chashma got famous. Also, those days things weren’t easily accessible to everyone, so it was easy to become a trendsetter. Now everything is available to people, which is nice, as they can dress the way they want.

You said this is your second innings in a way. What lies ahead?
I am now open to everything. It’s not easy to get good scripts, so I am still fighting that battle. I love the new brand of movies that Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao are doing. That’s the kind of cinema you want to watch. Even my dad has done such family entertainers with middle-class values, which are funny, but not over the top. But for me to get such films, I need to change my image. The industry still thinks of me as a glamorous guy (from films like Gupt). They always told me I can’t play a poor man’s role. Also, because my films that did well were thrillers in a commercial set-up, which were also glamorous roles, that image of me has stayed. I did try to do films like Vaada Raha, Nanhe Jaisalmer and Kareeb, which were films with a message, but they didn’t work. Now, I am ready to explore roles that I never have.

Shimla girl Sahher Bambba on fulfilling a childhood dream with the Deols
Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 24, 2019)

The first thing that strikes you about Sahher Bambba, who makes her debut as Karan Deol’s lady love in Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (PPDKP) helmed by his papa Sunny Deol, is her confidence. The Shimla girl with no film connections tells you that acting was a childhood dream. “I was fascinated with films, more so the songs which I’d perform to in my living room. I was thrilled with all the attention I got from my family. There was never a plan B,” she asserts.

She caught Sunny’s eye after she won the Mumbai finals of OPPO Bombay Times Fresh Face 2016, went through four rounds of auditions, before making the cut. Since PPDKP is Karan’s launchpad, wasn’t she afraid the focus would be on him? “Sunny sir’s focus was on spinning a beautiful love story without any bias. So no, there were no apprehensions,” she smiles, going on to add that all the members of her family are Sunny fans since he exploded on the screen with Betaab. “When Barsaat released, my elder cousins were crushing on his brother Bobby. It’s a huge deal for me to be a part of this film.”

Interestingly, she struck a friendship faster with her director-producer than her co-actor. “From our first meeting itself, Sunny sir made me feel comfortable. I can talk to him about anything and everything. But when I met Karan at the office, he came across as shy and reticent, and I am a reserved girl too. When we went to Manali for the prep, we didn’t speak to each other for a month. I tried to strike a rapport, but I don’t think Karan liked me much. It was only when Sunny sir flew down to Mumbai for a day, that we all let our hair down and partied together and the ice was broken,” she reminisces, admitting that when she asked him why he had been so standoffish for so long, Karan quipped, ‘I was in my own zone and I didn’t care.’

Prod her on the experience of working with Sunny as a director and she reflects, “I feel there are two of Sunny sir; one on-the-shoot and other away-from-the-shoot. The former is serious and particular about what he wants. The one after work and during breaks is great fun.” Deol Jr, too, is also very focused at work and can get worked up when things aren’t happening the way they should. “Both Sunny sir and Karan are family today, one a father figure, the other a friend for life,” she asserts.

Her own father owns a hotel in Manali and Sahher shot her debut film there. Not in the main town, but places difficult to reach, like Pandu Ropa which is an eight hour trek. “From there, we would trek another hour to the location every morning,” she informs, adding that the action scenes were shot further up the Rohtang valley. “We had to take the chopper to reach there. In sub-zero temperatures, we had to rappel down a frozen waterfall, then get thrown into glacial water, thrice, before a shot was okayed,” she recalls with a shiver.

Sahher hasn’t signed another film despite not being bound by a contract. “I’ve grown so attached to Sunny sir and Karan that I’d love to collaborate with them again,” she smiles. “I’m also a fan of Varun Dhawan and would love to work with Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Imtiaz Ali, Aanand L Rai… And the list goes on.

BOMBAY TIMES (February 16, 2019)

At 50, Bobby Deol is looking his dashing best and fitter than ever. And most of all, with recharged batteries, he’s now set on full-power mode. Leaving behind his laid-back attitude, today, the actor is greedy for roles, has a new sense of ambition and is ready to give what it takes to be an integral part the show business. In a chat with BT, he talks about how the definition of stardom has changed over the years, what keeps him grounded and his faith in commercial cinema. Excerpts...

Since your first outing (Barsaat, 1995), the industry has undergone a lot of change. Looking back, do you think that you have managed to keep up with the times? Also, how do you think the definition of stardom has changed over the years? Not only have you experienced it personally, you have also seen your father and brother at the height their popularity...
I have to admit that I had slowed down and wasn’t moving with the times. As an actor, you have to go out there and tell people that look, I am here. As far as stardom is concerned, its definition has undergone a lot of changes. Today, there is no excitement when you spot an actor. Earlier, actors were not spotted so easily, they were far more exclusive. There was an aura around them, which has diminished. The crowd that would gather to spot my father or the actors of his generation were huge. In that sense, today, stardom is viewed differently.

After a long break, you have had multiple releases in the last two years — Poster Boys, Race 3 and Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se. How do you think these films have propelled your career? Were you happy with the way these outings turned out?
It’s your attitude that takes you far in life. These films have helped me establish the fact that I am here, raring to go. You can’t predict how a film will fare at the box office. Race 3 has given me a big boost. I was noticed for the fact that I looked fit and had a great body to boot. I am grateful to Salman Khan for that film.

Recently, you celebrated your 50th birthday. As an actor, who has been a part of showbiz for close to 24 years, does the pressure of looking a certain way lessen with age?
If you are not healthy, it comes in the way of your achievements. For the past two years, I have been focussing on fitness. Every day is better because you feel more energetic. Today, I feel I can accomplish more than what I did 10 years ago, because I am fitter. There are many actors in our industry who are not fit, but they are successful. If they become fitter, they will only feel better about themselves. Talking about myself, what attracted people to me was the way I looked and my personality. But I never realised that and lost four years of my life doing nothing. My dad (Dharmendra) and my brother (Sunny Deol) have also gone through ups and downs, but they never gave up. My dad, who is 83, just shot for a film. I, too, want to act till my last breath. To answer your question on the pressures of looking good, as an actor, you stop thinking about how good you look on screen and start concentrating on looking like the character.

While you say that the focus in on looking like the character, the industry is often accused of being youth obsessed. Do you think that’s a fair assessment?
The industry is made to look as if it is youth-obsessed. There are many films that don’t necessarily talk about the youth, but have been successful. In recent times, content-driven films have worked at the box office. Having said that, had these films featured bigger actors, the audience would have expected much more from them.

On that note, do you think that commercial cinema is now going through reinvention?
Sometime back, our cinema had lost depth, but it’s finding new ground now. However, commercial cinema will not change. Some of the biggest blockbusters don’t make sense, but they are successful. What is show business, it’s about entertaining people. Also, in my opinion, any successful film is a commercial film.

You have comfortably slipped into the role of an anti-hero in the past. Is there any role that you wouldn’t play today?
I might not do a particular role if I don’t like the way it is written. For an actor, it’s all about the excitement of playing the character. An actor doesn’t think how the role will influence people. When I am part of a film, I want people to enjoy seeing me and not start thinking as to why I chose to play a certain character. Movie business is not about educating people, it’s about entertainment. In Hollywood, films are not made to please anyone, they make a film when they believe in a subject. But in India, people get influenced easily. So, films have to be made keeping the Indian audience in mind. That is why it is difficult to choose characters that one wants to play. Having said that, I am glad that I work in Indian cinema because our films are very entertaining.

There is a perception about you that you are very laid-back...
I don’t know how to make people believe otherwise. I can’t be on a film set and act enthusiastic all the time. I am an actor and I need to conserve and preserve my energy to deliver in front of the camera (laughs!). In the past, I might have been laid-back, because I was not competitive. I believed that everybody has their own space. I didn’t give it my all and that might have led to things being taken away from me. But today, I am raring to go. Sometimes though, I wonder how much you can talk about yourself. But that’s the way things are. Today, I am trying to do everything that an actor is expected to do, and I have started enjoying it.

Being from a film family, you were raised in a protective environment. Are you as protective about your sons (Aryaman and Dharam)?
Yes, I was brought up in a very protected environment. And I feel that went against me because I didn’t have to face difficulties. I don’t want that for my kids as it’s important for them to develop faith in themselves and fight their own battles. However, sometimes, I do become overprotective.

Will they, too, enter showbiz?
There is no business like show business. I know that my kids want to be actors, but I keep telling them that being an actor is like gambling. They have to be educated before choosing their own path.

Even with all the fame and adulation, after all these years, you continue to be grounded. How have you managed to achieve that?
That’s thanks to my upbringing. Growing up, I have seen my father surrounded by some people, who would chadhao him. He would give everyone a chance to be with him, though he knew exactly who was what. That’s why it’s easier for me to be grounded and not let the fame, adulation and stardom get to my head.

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 28, 2018)

On Sunday, Shah Rukh Khan revealed that the following day would be exactly half a lifetime of being ‘others’. “Of expressing love, happiness, sadness, dancing, falling and flying...” The tweet ended with the hope that he had touched small bits of our hearts and would continue to do so through his lifetime, rhapsodising, “Roshni meri bahot door tak jayegi, par shart yeh hai ki saleeke se jalao mujhko.” His first mainstream film, Deewana, opened on June 25, 1992 and kickstarted his star trek. But producer Guddu Dhanoa reveals that SRK stepped in to play Raja, who woos and weds a widowed Kaajal (Divya Bharti) with her mother-in-law’s blessings only after Armaan Kohli’s exit. “Armaan had differences with Shabnam Kapoor on another film, Insaaf Ki Devi. Shabnam’s husband Sweety (Lalit Kapoor) and Raju Kothari were co-producing Deewana with me and his dad, Rajkumar Kohli, called to say Armaan would either do both films or neither,” Guddu reminisces.

The maker was simultaneously working on the prep of Bobby Deol’s debut and Dharmendra, his first cousin, had deputed him to coordinate with Champion’s scriptwriter Javed Akhtar and director Shekhar Kapur. En route to Chennai to see the special effects of Mani Ratnam’s Anjali, Guddu confided to Shekhar that he’d lost his ‘hero’, who instantly recommended Shah Rukh Khan who’d impressed in his TV shows, Fauji and Circus. “I couldn’t recollect his face till he entered a restaurant at Connaught Place and then, knew instantly that he was my Raja,” narrates Guddu.

SRK, juggling five films — Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, King Uncle, Chamatkar, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Dil Aashna Hai — had no dates but agreed to a narration at his home the next day. After a barren first half, when Raja is nowhere in the picture, he suggested they break for lunch. “When we resumed, the story grabbed his interest and at the end of the narration, he told me, ‘Guddu, I’m doing your film. But I can shoot only if another maker cancels his dates. I paid him a signing amount of Rs 11,000 and returned,” says Guddu.

After a month, he got a call from the actor whose Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman schedule had got cancelled. He had 20 days off. ‘When can you shoot?” he asked and Guddu replied, “Tomorrow.” They started a day later, and the film he had no dates for, was the first to release.

“God up there writes our screenplays, we are just actors playing out roles,” philosophises Guddu, remembering how they’d take the ferry to Madh Island for the shoot at Poonawala bungalow. “One day, I told him some industry people were saying Shah Rukh was a good actor but didn’t look good in songs. He shot back, saying, ‘Meri filmein chalin toh main rahunga, else I’ll return home to Delhi.’ After a beat, he added, ‘Par main chaloonga.’ I liked his confidence,” Guddu smiles at the memory.

He himself was confident of Deewana working after the music, released a month before the film, topped the charts. “Aisi Deewangi” was playing in cabs and hotels while we were shooting in Shimla. It was the first song to be recorded. “Payaliya”, “Teri Umeed Tera Intezaar”, “Sochenge Tumhe Pyaar” and “Koi Na Koi Chahiye” were equally popular. Sameer bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist (“Teri Umeed”), Best Male Playback went to Kumar Sanu for “Sochenge Tumhe” and Nadeem–Shravan were Best Music Directors.

“I came across Nadeem-Shravan when scouting for a heroine for Bobby in Champion. I’d picked up a reel of Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin so we could take a look at Pooja Bhatt. Everyone ended up loving the title track and Nadeem-Shravan were signed. It’s another thing that Champion never got made and their compositions were used in Barsaat with which Bobby eventually made a beginning. While ferrying them for music sittings at Sunny Super Sound, I told them about my film, and they agreed to score for it too,” he says.

After the film was complete, Guddu had some sleepless nights following rumours that SRK wouldn’t dub for Deewana as the makers of his solo release wanted to come out first. But he assured them the film that was done wouldn’t be stopped and kept his word. “Manmohan Desai who’d taken the Delhi–UP territories for distribution had a problem with Kaajal staying with Raja at the end and insisted she returns to her first husband, Ravi. Since he was an experienced maker while we were newcomers, many suggested we listen to him. But we refused and listened to our hearts and our love story had a happy ending,” says Guddu who ended a two-year dry spell with the film.

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.

MIRZYA has opened to very low numbers and this the case with most newcomer films. Below is a list of the opening day figures of newcomer films since 1994 where generally the male lead is a newcomer and in some films the pairing itself is being introduced. In the last few years STUDENT OF THE YEAR, HEROPANTI and HERO (Salman Khan factor) have got what can be called good openings. JAANE TU...YA JAANE NA had a good opening in 2008 (Aamir Khan factor). SAAWARIYA in 2007 also opened well but as it was a clash with OM SHANTI OM, the figures looked low as the Shah Rukh Khan film was almost double.

The last time that newcomer films took a huge start was along time ago - REFUGEE in 2000 and before that BARSAAT in 1995. The former actually broke the opening day record as it was the entry of Amitabh Bachchan's son and the director J.P. Dutta was coming off one the biggest hits of all time BORDER and this was again a similar type of film. So, the audience came in hordes to watch initially. KAHO NAA...PYAAR HAI took an excellent start in Mumbai circuit. There may be some smaller films but those are not included and the list below is of films which had good awareness at time of release.
Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1994) - 20,00,000
Prem (1995) - 26,00,000
Barsaat (1995) - 68,00,000
Tere Mere Sapne (1996) - 21,00,000
Himalay Putra (1997) - 43,00,000
Prem Aggan (1998) - 44,00,000
Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) - 51,00,000
Refugee (2000) - 1,56,00,000
Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001) - 81,00,000
Tum Bin (2001) - 15,00,000
Maine Dil Tujhko Diya (2002)  - 85,00,000
Jism (2003) - 67,00,000
Ishq Vishk (2003) - 58,00,000
Taarzan - The Wonder Car (2004) - 67,00,000
Saawan - The Love Season (2006) - 80,00,000
Saawariya (2007) - 3,00,00,000
Love Story 2050 (2008) - 2,07,00,000
Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na (2008) - 3,45,00,000
Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) - 95,00,000
Vicky Donor (2012)- 1,97,00,000
Ishaqzaade (2012) - 4,49,00,000
Student Of The Year (2012) - 7,52,00,000
Heropanti (2014) - 6,51,00,000
Hero (2015) - 6,69,00,000
Mirzya (2016) - 1,75,00,000 apprx

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 17, 2013)

Barsaat steered away from Devdas-like drunken pathos, pecking lovebirds and nodding daisies and revolutionised the concept of love in Hindi cinema. “I want my audience to not just see romance but to feel it,” producer-director-actor Raj Kapoor asserted, and ensured that they did.

In one scene Nargis runs towards Raj. Violin in one hand, he grasps her with the other, she bends backwards, striking an instinctive, intimate pose, which gave RK Films its logo. After Jagte Raho, Raj and Nargis didn’t do another film together, but the duo remained engraved in the famous RK emblem.

Recalling the celluloid romance, which scandalised the purists in the 40s with its unabashed passion, writer Ramananad Sagar’s son Prem Sagar says how after fleeing from Lahore post Partition, his father landed in Mumbai where he found a benevolent patron in filmmaker Prithviraj Kapoor. “He had read papaji’s short stories and articles and signed him to write plays for Prithvi Theatres. The salary he got from writing the plays, used to take care of our monthly needs,” reminisces Prem.

One of the plays, Kalakaar Aur Gaura, marked the stage debut of child star Shammi Kapoor and impressed Raj Kapoor, who after his directorial debut in Aag in 1948 was on the lookout for a love story. Ramanand Sagar made RK wait for six months while he completed his novel Aur Insaan Mar Gaya, before writing Barsaat for him.

“It was a story of two couples and encapsulated the eight shades of love,” says Prem, remembering his father writing it in the attic of Teresa Villa in Malad. Ramanand Sagar set the story in the Kashmir of his childhood, and instead of shooting at Cheema Creek or Sion Fort, as was the practice then, RK flew his unit to the Valley in a bid to bring the paradise on earth on to the screen in all its picturesque glory.

Barsaat opened on September 30, 1949, and was a blockbuster. Interestingly, it was first passed with a ‘U’ certificate. But in 1949, when the Indian Cinematograph Act of 1918 was amended to include a new censorship classification for ‘Adult’ and ‘Unrestricted’ exhibition, it was reviewed and re-censored with a ‘U/A’ certificate. This created quite a stir and drew bigger crowds to the theatres.

“It launched many careers, including that of music directors Shankar-Jaikishen and lyricists Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra. It also made Lata Mangeshkar a household name,” says Prem.

Six decades later, one still sees the RK logo and remembers a love that lit up the screen.