Today (December 29) is the birth anniversary of the greatest star of the Indian film Industry. Sadly, we lost him in 2012. There has been no other star in the industry who saw such a meteoric rise within such a short span of time, delivering 17 blockbuster hits from 1969 to 1973. People will remember forever this charismatic superstar with whose advent the word ‘superstar’ came into use in our country.
It was with Aradhana in 1969 that this star was born and after that, he became the heartthrob of the country. The craze he generated among people of all ages was unprecedented in the history of Indian cinema and has not been surpassed since.
When Rajesh Khanna passed away in July 18, 2012, it was indeed a sad day for the people of Dehradun and Mussoorie who have vivid memories of the actor when he shot for three of his films in Doon and Mussoorie — two of them in the seventies and one in the eighties. In fact, Rishikesh featured predominantly in his film Karm.
Whenever he came to Doon or Mussoorie, he was at the peak of his career and people of the two towns exhibited craze for him which was prevalent throughout the country.
The great actor's interaction with students and staff of two of Mussoorie's well-known schools namely Hampton Court and Wynberg Allen during the making of Karm in the seventies and Ghar ka Chirag in the eighties respectively endeared him to them. In Karm, the principal of the school was actress Sudha Shivpuri who later appeared as 'Ba' in Ekta Kapoor's soap titled Kyunki Saas bhi Kabhi Bahu thhi.
There are a number of scenes in Karm which show us the lovely campus of Hampton Court School (CJM). The Mohkampur area of the Doon valley (The railway crossing) is also quite recognizable. A considerable part of the film has been shot in Rishikesh which appears pristine and serene in the film-as it must have been in the seventies.
Schools of Doon valley, Mussoorie and Nainital have featured in many other Hindi films as they are in scenic locales and have beautiful buildings and infrastructure.
Wynberg Allen School, one of the oldest institutions in the region, appeared in Rajesh Khanna's 1989 film Ghar Ka Chiraag which was based on the older film Ek Phool, Do Maali where Balraj Sahni plays the role which Khanna plays in Ghar Ka Chiraag.
Rajesh Khanna's film Kati Patang shows us Nainital in all its glory and at length. And for once, Nainital has been called Nainital and not by some other name! The song Jis Gali Mein Tera Ghar na ho Baalma has Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh boating on the Nainital lake which looks absolutely heavenly in the film.
One is sad while mentioning here that another great actor of the industry, Farooq Sheikh, passed away yesterday. This actor had recently visited the Doon valley. Earlier too, he had visited Dehradun several times. In 2002, a Star Plus serial titled "Kashmir" was shot in the Doon valley and Sheikh, who played a Kashmiri pandit in the serial, stayed with the unit here for a long while. His interest in Urdu poetry was intense and he recited verse of famous Urdu poets in an excellent manner.
On this occasion, the Doon valley pays its respects to the superstar on the film industry and to Sheikh, whose fine performances in parallel cinema will always be admired and remembered.