Golden Era of Bollywood: Remembering RAJ KHOSLA on his 92nd Birth Anniversary

Wednesday 31 May 2017

Remembering RAJ KHOSLA on his 92nd Birth Anniversary

Raj Khosla was born on 31 May 1925,he was one of the top directors in Hindi films of the Golden Era.He was known for his excellent song picturizations, probably stemming from his musical background.He was spotted by Dev anand  and advised him to take up direction. On his advice he became Guru Dutt's assistant. His directorial debut Milap (starring Dev Anand and Geeta Bali) in 1954 didn't click at the box office. But his second film, C.I.D., released in 1956 set the ball rolling and the young director never looked back.
In 1958 his 2 films Kala Pani and Solva Saal were released both were hits and were critically acclaimed.In 1960 his next film as director was  Bambai Ka Babu another hit.
Raj Khosla explored a variety of styles be it crime thrillers (C.I.D., Kala Pani (1958)), musicals (Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) – whose starting point was seven songs composed by O. P. Nayyar), suspense thrillers (Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), Mera Saaya (1966), Anita (1967) – his mystery trilogy with actress Sadhana), melodramas (Do Badan (1966), Do Raaste (1969)) or dacoit dramas (Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971)
After  Mera Gaon Mera Desh and had hits like Prem Kahani (1975) starring the then hottest pair of the day Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz, Nehle Pe Dehla (1976) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978),the last hit he gave was  Dostana (1980) with Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman and Shatrughan Sinha.
Beside Director he produced 7 films only 2 films Do Raaste 1969 and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) were Super hits,his last film Naqab (1989) with Rishi kapoor was a flop.He  died in Mumbai on 9 June 1991, totally disillusioned with the film industry.