Late showman’s former property that houses his memorial to now welcome dome and world leaders
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 29, 2018) 

Mirror had recently reported (August 26) that the landmark RK Studios in Chembur, built by Raj Kapoor nearly 70 years ago, is up for sale. The late actor filmmaker’s wife Krishna Raj Kapoor, sons Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv, and daughters Ritu Nanda and Rima Jain, feel it is no longer practical to hang on to the sprawling studio. Close on the heels of the news, it has now emerged that a farmhouse at Loni Kalbhor near Pune, which was formerly owned by RK and houses his memorial, is gearing up to welcome a large dome created by educationist Vishwanath Karad.

Conceptualised and designed by Karad, the dome will be home to 52 statues of world philosophers, saints and scientists, including Mahatma Gandhi, Gautam Buddha, Albert Einstein, Sant Tukaram, Isaac Newton and Aristotle, among others. Each weighing over 2000 kg the bronze statues have been created by a 93-year-old sculptor Ram Sutar. Karad, who describes himself as a “mechanical engineer by qualification but a crazy architect by interest,” says that construction of the monument began in 2005 with no blueprint, sketches or a professional architect, and only with the help of local labourers.

“We were building this peace monument as a tribute to India and to show her solidarity towards world peace. I recently found out that it has grown to become the world’s largest dome, even bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It will also have the world’s largest peace library with the rarest of books. We are unveiling it on October 2 with a world peace conference,” informs Karad, adding that RK had mentioned in his will that his farmhouse if ever sold, should go to an educational institution. Today, the property houses many colleges. “And though the architecture was very different, we decided to retain Raj Kapoor’s home as is. The area is called Vishwarajbaug and the home, Raj Kapoor Bungalow. We also constructed a monument with the statues of Kapoor from his best films, and a seven-Pagoda tribute showcasing his best works,” adds Karad. There is also a music school chaired by Lata Mangeshkar and run by her nephew, Adinath.

Are the Kapoors and Mangeshkars invited for the launch? “They are a part of our family and will always be invited. God willing, our families will congregate again on this momentous occasion despite our busy lives,” he concludes.


Raj Kapoor’s samadhi in the memorial building

Will offer two and three year specialised courses in various disciplines
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 1, 2015)

Last year, on May 16, the World Peace Center (Alandi) and MAEER's Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), Pune, launched the Raj Kapoor Memorial--The Golden Era of Indian Cinema at their Rajbaug Educational Complex in Loni-Kalbhor. The late filmmaker's sons, Randhir and Rajeev Kapoor, inaugurated the museum which stands alongside Raj Kapoor's bungalow. It journeys through his repertoire, reviving memories from films like Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Prem Rog which were shot on the 125-acre Loni farm which he had bought in the '60s. There are also tributes to other filmmakers

This September, the MIT School of Film and Television will come up on 25 acres of the same property which also houses the Vishwashanti Sangeet Kala Academy, along with the samadhis of Raj Kapoor, and his parents Prithviraj and Ramsarni Kapoor.

The school will offer post graduate diplomas in direction, editing, sound and cinematography. These are three-year courses--one-year foundation course and two for specialisation. "There are also two-year courses in scriptwriting and production design. There will be 20 students in each batch," said Dr Jabbar Patel, filmmaker and chairperson of the institute.

Speaking to Mirror just before he flew off to the US to deliver a keynote address at a conference on cinema, Dr Patel said, "The basics of the curriculum will be similar to that at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, but we will offer far more advanced technical training."

It all started after the Kapoor family, over a decade ago, donated the property to Vishwanath Karad, the founder president of World Peace Center, because it was Raj Kapoor's wish that the land be used for educational and not commercial purposes. Karad, the founder-director of the MIT Group, built the college there.

Dr Patel's hospital is just 50 kilometres from the farm and he would drop by sometimes to watch Raj Kapoor shoot and chat with him. One day, years later, he was reminiscing with his college mate, Vishwanath Karad, and his son Rahul, when the idea of starting a world class film school came up. "We've been working on the project for the last two-three years, it will open this September," he informed.

The governing council of the school includes stalwarts like Mani Ratnam, Shaji N Karun, Mammootty, Girish Kasaravalli, Goutam Ghose and Jahnu Barua. Mentors include Binod Pradhan for cinematography, Resul Pookutty for sound design, A Sreekar Prasad for editing, Jayant Deshmukh for production design, Kamlesh Pandey for scripting, Shankar Mahadevan for music and Samar Nakhate for direction.

"There will also be faculty members from the film fraternity, drawn from different disciplines, who will take classes and conduct workshops, along with academicians and technicians from abroad. We are trying to get it affiliated with world class film schools in Europe and America," said Dr Patel.

He pointed out that like the memorial, the school too will be a worthy tribute to Raj Kapoor who lived and worked at the farm. "Raj Kapoor saab was one of the legends of Indian cinema, whose name was second only to Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister in the '50s and '60s," says Dr Patel. "He'd be happy to see young talent blooming on his beloved Loni farm."