'The moment a movie was declared a hit, he would immediately start planning his next.'
In his long career, Raj Khosla directed classics like CID (1956), Woh Kaun Thi (1964), Mera Saaya (1966), Do Raaste (1969), Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971) and Dostana (1980).
On his birth centenary on May 31, his daughters Anita Khosla and Uma Khosla Kapur released Raj Khosla: The Authorised Biography, co-written by Amborish Roychoudhury.
It has many unknown facts about the film-maker that we don't know.
For example, did you know that he choregraphed the song Bindiya Chamkegi from Do Raaste?
Or that his Suchitra Sen-Dev Anand-starrer almost got into trouble for this reason?
Anita looks back at her father's career and tells Patcy N/Rediff, "Dev Anand, Sunil Dutt and my dad belonged to a different generation. They did not seem to be from the Hindi industry, they spoke English so well."
Would Raj Khosla sing at home?
Yes. He would play the piano or the harmonium and sing.
What were the dinner conversations like at home?
He would talk about Shakespeare and encourage us to listen to different kinds of music.
His favourites were K L Saigal, Hemant Kumar, Jagjit Singh and Laxmikant-Pyarelal.
While writing this book and revisiting your father's memories, what did you discover about him?
It was quite a revelation. I never knew he had choreographed the song Bindiya Chamkegi in Do Raaste.
He used to emote the songs with gestures and expressions.
When Amborish found out that he choreographed that song, it makes sense.
I found out he used to pay salaries to his crew even when the film was not on the floor.
Would actors visit your home?
Dev Anand was very close to him.
At that time, I was in college in Chandigarh, so I missed many events, like the weddings of Dev Anand and Sunil Dutt's daughters.
He always spoke about Dev Anand, and I eventually met him at Mehboob Studios when I was working for Take 2 magazine.
He was so different, very polite and impeccable.
Dev Anand, Sunil Dutt and my dad belonged to a different generation. They did not seem to be from the Hindi industry, they spoke English so well.
Raj Khosla had an obsession with horses. Tell us more about that.
In Gurdaspur, his cousin and he would go riding often when they were young.
In Bombay, he was a member of the Turf Club.
Every winter, we would go to the races. My father would let us bet Rs 100. Once, we won triple the amount and it thrilled us.
That was his winter ritual.
How would he celebrate the success of his movies?
The moment a movie was declared a hit, he would immediately start planning his next.
He'd get busy choosing the title.
Everyone admired his knack for great titles and he work his story around the titles.
He did not throw success parties; he did not enjoy parties.
He preferred to go to Mumbai's Otter's Club or go to the races, playing chess and read.
Do you recall your father's relationship with Mahesh Bhatt?
My dad once told me that Mahesh Bhatt was the only assistant director who left him in a year. The others stayed on.
Mahesh had the confidence and talent to go out on his own.
As a child, did you visit your father's film sets?
Not really. We weren't allowed on his sets until his film, Sunny (1984).
Once, during college, we visited Mehboob Studio while he was shooting Do Premee.
My cousin wanted to be in a scene, so he told us to walk across casually. We had fun.
During Sunny, I visited the sets as a part of my journalism studies and photography training.
The shooting was at Sadhana's bungalow in Santa Cruz (northwest Mumbai). I spent the day with Sharmilaji (Tagore) and we spoke about astrology.
You chose journalism instead of the movies. Why is that?
I was a bit of a rebel. After graduation, my father wanted me to do a master's degree in literature and study abroad.
But I found Bombay magical.
When I joined Sophia College for a mass media course, he was furious.
He didn't want us to get into film-making. He believed a woman should be a good wife and mother.
I didn't agree.
I followed my heart and chose this path.
What are your favourite Raj Khosla films?
Woh Kaun Thi is perfect. My daughter and I watched it recently, and it still feels fresh.
Manoj Kumar and Sadhana's performance, music by Madan Mohan, lyrics by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and Lata Mangeshkar's songs all come together beautifully.
They shot it in Shimla, which was foggy and eerie.
It's his best film.
Another favourite is Kala Pani, with Madhubala and Dev Anand. It is light, romantic, and highlights friendship, which my father always emphasised.
Tell us about your father's final days.
His films weren't doing well. The producers did not blame him but he became very quiet.
He felt bad.
He took refuge in chess, would play for hours.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee often came to play with him.
We enjoyed seeing him at home. Earlier, he was always out on shoots.
Then he had a cycle accident and needed leg surgery. That slowed him down and deeply depressed him.
He used to be agile, so using a walker was hard on him.
The day he died, on June 9, 1991, it was raining heavily. Bombay had almost come to a standstill.
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