Cinema meant everything to my father: Filmmaker Raj Khosla's daughter Sunita

Mumbai: Cinema meant everything to Raj Khosla and he kept working till the very end, says daughter Sunita Bhalla, reminiscing about the director's career and the close bond he shared with Guru Dutt, Dev Anand and Vijay Anand.

Khosla was an important figure in Hindi with several hits like "C.I.D." (1956), "Woh Kaun Thi?" (1964), "Mera Saaya" (1966), "Mera Gaon Mera Desh" (1971) and "Dostana" (1980) to his credit. His 100th birth anniversary will be celebrated on Saturday.

Legacy was something that Khosla never thought off or even talked about with his family, said Sunita, the second of the director's five daughters.

"He never thought or talked about legacy, like what he is going to leave behind. He just worked and worked. That's all he did all his life. He never regretted what he did. He never regretted his work. He loved his work. He was very happy with what he did till the end. Cinema meant everything to him," Sunita told PTI in an interview.

Khosla would take good care of people who worked with him and maintained a calm atmosphere on his sets, she said.

"He used to enjoy his work and that was the best part... The stars used to enjoy working with him. He would just say, 'Give your best.' Everybody worked so happily with him. He worked with many top actresses -- from Madhubala, Sadhana, Mumtaz, Waheeda Rehman, and Asha Parekh, and others," she added.

Among the over 25 films that her father made as a director, Sunita said she loved "C.I.D.", "Bombai Ka Babu" and "Mera Gaon Mera Desh".

She remembered being on the set of "Mera Gaon Mera Desh", which featured Dharmendra and Asha Parekh in lead roles with Vinod Khanna playing the antagonist.

"It was in Udaipur. I saw my dad taking shots for the movie, the song 'Maar Diya Jaye Ke Chhod Diya Jaye', which is such a brilliant song, was shot in the studios. 'Apni Prem Kahaniyan' was another memorable track.

"We fell in love with the costumes and jewellery and we would tell dad we wanted to wear all that," Sunita said, adding that she also saw the shooting of "Dostana" in Ooty, and "Kachche Dhage" in Mahabaleshwar.

Dev Anand and Guru Dutt played a pivotal role in Khosla's life. The director wanted to be a playback but destiny had different plans for him.

He served as an assistant director to Dutt before making his directorial debut with "Milap" in 1955.

Anand and Khosla collaborated on several hits, including "C.I.D.", "Kala Pani" and "Solva Saal".

Sunita said the bond between the trio was "strong" and unbreakable.

"I’ve been with him to Dev Anand's house. He had close association with Chetan Anand and Guru Dutt. So, it was four of them together. They would often talk about films. I remember a discussion around who would direct ‘Guide’. Some of the portion was shot by dad also, and then Vijay Anand took over after that." She said Bhatt considered Khosla as a mentor.

"He was an assistant at that time, working under him, assisting in movies and all that." Khosla was also close friends with poet lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, lyricist Anand Bakshi, filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee and writer Rahi Masoom Raza.

"They were like a family (Bakshis). I must be 14 or 15 maybe that time. There were so many good moments... Rahi Masoom Raza was his close friend. He also had a bond with Majrooh Sultanpuri, and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. With Hrishkesh Mukherjee, he used to play chess everyday. That's how he used to pass his time in the evenings." Sunita shared that as a father had set certain rules for his five daughters to follow and weekends were always reserved as "family time." “He used to make sure that all five of us used to be in the house at seven o'clock in the evening. Nobody was allowed to go anywhere (after that) unless we told him. Every Saturday,Sunday, we used to have family time at our ancestral house. My grandfather would be there and keep all our stuff ready for us. We used to eat biryani over there, and enjoy it,” she added.   Despite making some of the most critically-acclaimed films of Hindi cinema, Sunita believes her father hasn’t been appreciated much.

And that's why a retrospective to commemorate his 100th birth anniversary is a “special” moment for the family, she added.

"All the heroines and people who have worked with him should come together and just honour him. That's all my request from the industry. I would appreciate it if people in the industry understood and just honoured him,” Sunita said.

Titled ‘Raj Khosla 100 – Bambai Ka Babu’, the event will take place on May 31 at Mumbai’s Regal Cinema and also features a special panel discussion on the legacy of one of Indian cinema’s most versatile directors.

As part of the celebrations, three of Khosla’s acclaimed films -- "C.I.D." (1956), "Bambai Ka Babu" (1960), and "Mera Gaon Mera Desh" (1971) -- will be screened.