RK Studio fire: Rishi Kapoor and film fraternity mourn loss of memorabilia

Not just the Kapoor family or people from the film industry, the major fire at the iconic RK Studio has saddened even members of the audience. 

Rishi Kapoor is heartbroken as the fire has destroyed a number of valuables related to RK Films' yesteryear era of his late father Raj Kapoor. This also includes the iconic mask from Mera Naam Joker. While talking to daily, Mumbai Mirror, he said, "There were costumes from every RK film, from Awaara (1951) to Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999). Most of the stuff was kept neatly in trunks and some of it was even labelled."

This is not all though. "The costumes worn by every RK heroine, from Nargis to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is lost. The jewellery worn by Padmini in Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960) was also stored here with a lot of love. There were spears, sabres, artefacts, furniture and other regalia used for the various shoots. The Mera Naam Joker mask and clothes," added Kapoor. 

He and brother Randhir Kapoor are still to come to terms with the loss. "Dabboo (Randhir) and I couldn’t believe what hit us. This is probably why they say that one should never put all eggs in one basket. But for us, this was our father’s legacy, and it was a treasure trove," he said. 

Rishi also expressed his sorrow on Twitter. “Sad A major fire broke out at RK StudiosWe have lost the iconic Stage 1 Thankfully no casualties nor injuries. All your concerns appreciated. A Studio can be built again but the loss of the irreplaceable memorabilia and costumes of all RK Films,is tragic for all. Fire took it away,” the tweet read. 

RK Studio was opened in 1948, and in all these years, a number of films have been shot at the studio on a regular basis. Others from the industry are also saddened by the loss. Some of them took to Twitter to express their grief. 

These include the likes of Anupam Kher, Farhan Akhtar, Farah Khan, Boman Irani, Suniel Shetty, Vikram Bhatt, Rohit Roy, among others. 

The fire broke out on Saturday, 16 September, afternoon and destroyed the stage one of the studio. The fire was brought under control by evening and no casualties have been reported.