Many a long time in the past, there lived in Kolkata — then Calcutta — a boy referred to as Shrishti Nath Kapoor, who studied in a faculty referred to as Mitra Institution in Bhowanipore. When his household later moved to Bombay, he not solely carried alongside the inventive affect that Calcutta left on him but additionally cherished his early life within the metropolis. The boy grew as much as turn out to be the legendary Raj Kapoor.
On Saturday (March 1, 2025), Kolkata will rejoice this Showman of Bollywood in a present directed by the famend Dastangoi performer Mahmood Farooqui on the Kolkata Centre for Creativity. Titled Dastan-e-Raj Kapoor, the guarantees, based on the organisers, will encapsulate the odyssey of Prithviraj Kapoor from Peshawar by Bombay to Calcutta, tracing his evolution from a junior artist to a shining star, and delve into the non-public {and professional} struggles and triumphs of Raj Kapoor.
Dastan-e-Raj Kapoor — filled with nostalgia, anecdotes and music — is written by Sibtain Shahidi and led by Rana Pratap Senger and Rajesh Kumar. “Raj Kapoor and Kolkata shared a profound connection, shaping each other in ways often overlooked. His early exposure to Kolkata’s rich cultural and cinematic landscape, particularly through his father Prithviraj Kapoor’s association with New Theatres, played a crucial role in his artistic development. This performance not only honours his cinematic contributions but also highlights Kolkata’s role in shaping Indian cinema,” Richa Agarwal, chairperson of Kolkata Centre for Creativity informed The Hindu.
“Kolkata remained significant throughout Kapoor’s career. His collaborations with Bengali legends like Salil Chowdhury, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and Sombhu Mitra influenced his storytelling and social consciousness. His film Jagte Raho (1956), co-directed by Mitra, reflected his deep engagement with themes of class struggle — an ethos that resonated with Kolkata’s intellectual and artistic movements. Raj Kapoor never forgot his Kolkata roots: he even donated ₹25,000 to Mitra Institution on its 75th anniversary, cherishing his formative years in the city,” Ms. Agarwal mentioned.
Mahmood Farooqui is a well known Dastan performer who, alongside together with his uncle Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, revived and innovated Dastangoi through the use of it as a medium to inform trendy tales. According to Ms. Agarwal, the larger-than-life story of Prithviraj and Raj Kapoor navigating and making it large in Bollywood finds an excellent method of reaching the lots by Dastangoi.
According to Bengal Film Archive, Prithviraj Kapoor lived in a home on Hazra Crossing the place each Raj and Shammi Kapoor spent their youthful years and the place Shashi Kapoor was born. Known within the neighbourhood as ‘Prithvir chhele’ (Prithvi’s son), Raj Kapoor would typically take the tram to New Theatres studio to ship do-it-yourself lunch to his father. He debuted as a toddler artist in Debaki Kumar Bose’s Inquilab, and his movie Jagte Raho (1956) was initially made in Bengali as Ek Din Ratre, co-directed by Sombhu Mitra.
Published – March 01, 2025 02:00 am IST
