Raj Kapoor’s Kolkata Chronicles: New Documentary Unveils the Showman’s Secret City Roots

The newly released documentary "Painted Memories: Calcutta Connects Raj Kapoor", informs fans of the pioneer filmmaker, one of India's largest cinematic figures, about some of his less-discussed connections to Kolkata. The documentary was directed by Jaydip Mukherjee and is approximately 50 minutes long. Mukherjee remembers learning that Raj Kapoor spent some of his childhood years in Kolkata and that he once lived there as Shrishti Nath Kapoor. Mukherjee learned that Raj attended Mitra Institution in Bhowanipore from 1935 until 1939 and during the making of the documentary, was granted access to visit his old classroom and the room in which he stayed. Both rooms are preserved to this day. 

 

There are some previously undisclosed stories, including that Kapoor's debut as a child artist was in Debaki Kumar Bose's 'Inquilab' and the noted donation he made to his school on its 75th anniversary. Mukherjee lays out the Bengali connections to Kapoor's output as a filmmaker through Kolkata and raises excellent points on how a lot of Raj's work and collaborations, borrowed from Bengali legends like Salil Chowdhury, Manna Dey, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Hemanta Mukherjee, Sambhu Mitra, Tripti Mitra, and Radhu Karmakar. The overlap between the Bengali and Mumbai film industry is made clear by Mukherjee.  

 

There was a large amount of shooting done at the Mudiali house of late Debaki Bose and Raj’s family used to gather often there, where Raj's father Prithviraj, would share a close bond with the Bose family. During production Mukherjee discovered that Rabindranath Tagore had suggested adapting 'Seeta' into a film, which became Prithviraj's film and Durga Khote's indication achievement at that time for being the first Indian film to win an award in the foreign festival. 

 

Director Jaydip Mukherjee feels the project is not a biopic, but a means of outlining the connections between Raj Kapoor and the Bengali legends that influenced his work or collaborated with him. Mukherjee contends this as an attempt to regard the continuing legacy of the Kapoor family on Indian cinema in a new light.

 

Source: The Times of India