Also houses statues of Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Pran.
By Tathagata Mitra
BANGALORE: A memorial dedicated to Bollywood legend Raj Kapoor was established in Pune on Friday.
The museum is being called ‘Raj Kapoor Memorial – The Golden Era of Indian Cinema’ and has been built at MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions campus at Loni Kalbhor of Pune.
The memorial exhibits the grand old age of Bollywood and other Indian film industries. It is housing statues of other legends like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Pran Sikand.
Kapoor’s son, actor Randhir Kapoor, was present at the inauguration. Overwhelmed, he commented that he felt his father is still alive.
“I am very happy for the respect shown towards my father, Raj Kapoorji, the greatest showman of Hindi cinema. My father is not alive today but I feel that he is alive and lives in this place in every work and lives in this memorial,” he said.
Randhir’s younger brother Rishi was not there for the inauguration but the youngest of Raj Kapoor’s sons, Rajiv, was also present at the event.
“I think everyone should see this memorial. We can learn a lot from his (my father’s) work. I am also thankful for the respect given to my father,” he was quoted as saying.
“It was the dream of Raj Kapoor and his family that this land should be used for educational purposes. This great artist has given a unique message to the society. Therefore, we were tempted to build this memorial which reflects Indian culture through the cinema,” said the founding president of World Peace Center, Alandi, Vishwanath D Karad.
Raj Kapoor was only 24 when he launched his own studio RK films. He went down a successful path by producing, directing and acting in films like “Barsaat” (1949), “Awaara” (1951), “Shree 420” (1955), and “Chori Chori” (1956). He received 11 Filmfare awards and 19 nominations for it. He also won two National Film Awards for Best Feature Film in Hindi. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1971 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1987. Word is, he is to be inducted onto the Brampton Walk of Fame in Ontario.