Mumbai, May 31: Cinema meant everything to Raj Khosla and he kept working till the very end, says daughter Sunita Bhalla, reminiscing about the director’s career and the close bond he shared with Guru Dutt, Dev Anand and Vijay Anand. Khosla was an important figure in Hindi with several hits like “C.I.D.” (1956), “Woh Kaun Thi?” (1964), “Mera Saaya” (1966), “Mera Gaon Mera Desh” (1971) and “Dostana” (1980) to his credit. His 100th birth anniversary will be celebrated on Saturday.
Legacy was something that Khosla never thought off or even talked about with his family, said Sunita, the second of the director’s five daughters.
“He never thought or talked about legacy, like what he is going to leave behind. He just worked and worked. That’s all he did all his life. He never regretted what he did. He never regretted his work. He loved his work. He was very happy with what he did till the end. Cinema meant everything to him,” Sunita told PTI in an interview. Khosla would take good care of people who worked with him and maintained a calm atmosphere on his sets, she said. “He used to enjoy his work and that was the best part… The stars used to enjoy working with him. He would just say, ‘Give your best.’ Everybody worked so happily with him. He worked with many top actresses — from Madhubala, Sadhana, Mumtaz, Waheeda Rehman, and Asha Parekh, and others,” she added.
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Among the over 25 films that her father made as a director, Sunita said she loved “C.I.D.”, “Bombai Ka Babu” and “Mera Gaon Mera Desh”.
She remembered being on the set of “Mera Gaon Mera Desh”, which featured Dharmendra and Asha Parekh in lead roles with Vinod Khanna playing the antagonist.
“It was in Udaipur. I saw my dad taking shots for the movie, the song ‘Maar Diya Jaye Ke Chhod Diya Jaye’, which is such a brilliant song, was shot in the studios. ‘Apni Prem Kahaniyan’ was another memorable track.”We fell in love with the costumes and jewellery and we would tell dad we wanted to wear all that,” Sunita said, adding that she also saw the shooting of “Dostana” in Ooty, and “Kachche Dhage” in Mahabaleshwar. Dev Anand and Guru Dutt played a pivotal role in Khosla’s life. The director wanted to be a playback but destiny had different plans for him.
He served as an assistant director to Dutt before making his directorial debut with “Milap” in 1955.
Anand and Khosla collaborated on several hits, including “C.I.D.”, “Kala Pani” and “Solva Saal”.
Sunita said the bond between the trio was “strong” and unbreakable.
“I’ve been with him to Dev Anand’s house. He had close association with Chetan Anand and Guru Dutt. So, it was four of them together. They would often talk about films. I remember a discussion around who would direct ‘Guide’. Some of the portion was shot by dad also, and then Vijay Anand took over after that.”
She said Bhatt considered Khosla as a mentor. “He was an assistant at that time, working under him, assisting in movies and all that.” Khosla was also close friends with poet lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, lyricist Anand Bakshi, filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee and writer Rahi Masoom Raza.
“They were like a family (Bakshis). I must be 14 or 15 maybe that time. There were so many good moments… Rahi Masoom Raza was his close friend. He also had a bond with Majrooh Sultanpuri, and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. With Hrishkesh Mukherjee, he used to play chess everyday. That’s how he used to pass his time in the evenings.” (PTI)
