Golden Era of Bollywood: Glory of R K Films and Studio

The golden era of Bollywood starts from this studio, though its first film Aag that couldn’t do well at the box office. Many super hit films were made by R.K. Films including,Awaara, Boot Polish, Shree 420 and Bobby. Raj Kapoor, the show man of Indian cinema was behind this time initiative ahead of its time.
The studio complex still stands as a proud symbol in Chembur, a suburb in eastern Mumbai.

Raj Kapoor established RK Films in 1948. The first film under the banner 'Aag' was a failure. In 1949, Raj Kapoor's first commercial success came with 'Barsaat', starring Nargis. One of the posters of Barsaat showed Raj Kapoor holding Nargis in one arm and a violin in another. The poster itself became iconic.

The studio started in 1950.As per Raj Kapoor“Once when I was shooting for Awara, I had completed 13 days of shooting in a studio when on the 14th day I was asked to dismantle my sets because the studio had been hired to someone else. I was very upset and that day I decided to make my own studio. I put together all the money I had and laid the foundation of RK Studio.”

After the success Awara 1951 Aah was released in 1953 The film was produced by Raj Kapoor and directed by Raja Nawathe. The film was rated "Below Average" at the box office but has various hit songs like "Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat", "Aaja Re Ab Mera Dil Pukara" and "Jaane Na Nazar".By this time Nargis became the in house heroine of R K Films. Boot Polish, Jagte Raho and Shri 420 followed.

Shri 420 was the third film directed by Raj Kapoor,it was the highest-grossing Indian film of 1955, and the song "Mera Joota Hai Japani", sung by Mukesh, became popular and a patriotic symbol of the newly independent India.In 1960 Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai released.The film was directed by Radhu Karmakar and produced by Raj Kapoor. The film stars Kapoor, Pran and Padmini in lead roles. This was the first directorial venture of Karmakar who had previously been cinematographer for many of Kapoor's films. The film was declared "Hit" at the box office.

Another Gem from R K Films came in 1964,Sangam a Bollywood Romance film written by Inder Raj Anand, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars Vyjayanthimala in the lead role opposite Raj Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar.It was Raj Kapoor's first colour film, distinguished by its technicolor and epic length (even by Bollywood standards). It is also considered the Magnum Opus or best work of Raj Kapoor.One of the features of the film that became widely used later on in Bollywood is the use of foreign locales for on-location shooting, such as Venice, Paris, and Switzerland.

After Sangam became a blockbuster, Mera Naam Joker was highly anticipated as it was under production for six years and was heavily publicized to be loosely based on Raj Kapoor's own life. Upon release the film turned out to be a critical and commercial disaster putting Kapoor into a financial crisis.In1971 Kal Aaj aur Kal produced by Raj Kapoor and directed by his son Randhir Kapoor released. The film's USP is the appearance of three generations of the famous Kapoor Family starring Prithviraj Kapoor, his son Raj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor's son Randhir Kapoor (in his acting debut) and Randhir's real-life wife-to-be Babita. It was a a moderate success at the box office.

After the debacle of Mera Naam Joker the financiers and distributors were dictating terms to RK so Bobby a teenage love story was planned.Bobby released in 1973 The film became a blockbuster, the top-grossing Indian hit of 1973,
R K Films were now making films under the direction of Randhir Kapoor also, Dharam Karam is a 1975 Hindi film produced by Raj Kapoor and directed by Randhir Kapoor, who also star as father and son in the film, respectively. The film performed "below average" at the box office.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram was the next R K Film released in 1978,starring Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman, directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Jainendra Jain.After this Raj Kapoor directed 2 films Prem Rog(1982) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili(1985). It was Raj Kapoor's last film. The film became a "Blockbuster" at the box office and went on to be the highest grossing Hindi film of 1985.
When Raj Kapoor died in 1988 in the middle of shooting 'Henna', Randhir took over the studio. His younger brother Rajiv Kapoor directed PremGranth in 1996; Rishi Kapoor directed Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999). Hereafter the Kapoors have produced no film under the R.K. Films banner.
TOP 10 HIT SONGS OF R K FILMS