Fire At RK Studios Destroys Precious Memorabilia Including 'Mera Naam Joker' Costume And Mask!

Raj Kapoor's iconic 'Mera Naam Joker' mask, and costumes worn by all RK banner heroines - from Nargis to Aishwarya -among the memorabilia lost in Saturday's fire at RK Studios, said Rishi Kapoor

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Around 10 pm Saturday, actor Rishi Kapoor had his first drink, way past his regular drinking hour of 8 pm. After a few sips, he switched off his phone, closed his eyes, and let his thoughts rewind to one of the most traumatic days of his life. His father, legendary showman Raj Kapoor's dream project, the address where some of the biggest blockbusters were shot, Stage One of the iconic RK Studios in Chembur, was gutted in a fire that had started at 2.22 pm on Saturday.

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Just the memory of the calamity brought a lump to Rishi's throat. "I still cannot believe it. I'm partially in denial even now. I spent several hours looking around the studio and as the embers fell, I felt distressed and helpless. Yet, here I am at home and I'm still thinking that perhaps it was just a bad dream," Rishi told Mumbai Mirror. His son Ranbir, who heard about the incident in London, is rushing back.

Rishi was not in a position to comment on the exact cause of the fire because everything he heard was "conjecture". While the police and the Fire Brigade officials have begun the process of a panchnama to ascertain the exact cause, it is said that on Friday, a reality show, was shot on the floor till the early hours of Saturday. Post pack-up, the lights on the set and in the makeup rooms were switched off.

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Rishi recalled some of the films that were shot in the studio, on the very stage that has now been gutted: 'Awaara', 'Shree 420', 'Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai', 'Mera Naam Joker', 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram', 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili', 'Dharam Karam', 'Prem Rog', to Rishi's own directorial film, 'Aa Ab Laut Chalen' in 1999... "My own journey at the RK Studio started at the age of two when I shot with my elder siblings, Randhir and Ritu, for the song 'Pyaar Hua Iqraar Hua' from 'Shree 420'. I kept crying because I had to walk through heavy rain and Nargisji bribed me with a Cadbury chocolate, promising to give it to me if I did what my father asked me to do. That aside, can you now imagine, how devastated I was when I saw the fire destroy everything around me? I am 65 now. It's a place I have been frequenting for 63 years.So have my siblings. It is an equally big blow for Randhir and Rajeev," Rishi said.

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He said it was all the more heart breaking for the matriarch, Krishna Raj Kapoor, who has been a gracious host at countless events at the studio. "My mother is devastated. She keeps indifferent health and we asked her not to come to the studio because the fire was quite bad.There was smoke bellowing all around," he said.