Rishi Kapoor has confirmed that the iconic RK Studio, set up by Raj Kapoor in 1948, is going to go on sale, in an interview to Mumbai Mirror. Speaking to the publication, the veteran actor, a senior member of the illustrious family that has had a huge impact on the Indian filmscape for generations now, noted that while the Kapoors are an "emotional" lot, their decision to put up the family studio for sale was taken by the family collectively.
Rishi said the Kapoor family had decided to sell the property after learning that the renovation of the studio would still not generate enough revenue to keep it running. The 70-year-old studio had been gutted by a massive fire the previous year, with flames having engulfed one of its main shooting areas as well several other key facilities.
“For a while, we did juggle with the idea of renovating the place with state-of-the-art technology. However, in reality it isn’t always possible for a phoenix to rise from the ashes. We Kapoors are very emotional lot but then… The investment in rebuilding the studio would just not have yielded sufficient revenue to keep it going. Believe me, we had to take the larger picture into account and take a level-headed decision. Even before the fire, for years R. K. Studio had become a huge white elephant, toting up losses. The few bookings we would get from films, TV serials and ad shoots would expect free parking space, air-conditioning and discounts,” he told the daily.
Rishi had earlier rued the "irreplaceable" loss of memorabilia and costumes from his home banner's movies after a portion of the family's iconic studio caught fire in Septemper, 2017. "A studio can be built again but the loss of the irreplaceable memorabilia and costumes of all R.K. Films, is tragic for all. Fire took it away," tweeted Rishi, son of the studio's founder, the legendary Raj Kapoor.
The blaze gutted one of the main shooting venues -- the set of dance reality TV show Super Dancer Season 2, but the shooting was not underway.
R.K. Films has given Bollywood titles like Barsaat (1949), Awaara (1951), Boot Polish (1954), Shri 420 (1955) and Jaagte Raho (1956).
The studio was the venue for movies like Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hain (1960), Mera Naam Joker (1970), Bobby (1973), the debut film for Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Prem Rog (1982), Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), which was the founder-actor's last film before his death in June 1988.