Veteran filmmaker Rahul Rawail goes down memory lane to document his ‘first-day-first-row seat’ as an assistant to the late Raj Kapoor. Titled Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work, the book is a memoir of Rawail’s days spent in RK Studios, Chembur, Mumbai, where he was taught to handle the ropes of filmmaking by the iconic filmmaker himself.
Chronicled by Pranik Sharma and published by Bloomsbury India, the book uncovers the techniques of Raj Kapoor, exploring not just his genius, but also never-before-seen aspects of his eccentric personality, his quirky sense of humour, his insights, the relationships he shared with his crew, his associations with artistes across three generations and, more importantly, what it took for Raj Kapoor to be an exceptional filmmaker, with his understanding of human emotions, the virtues of music and the art of visual storytelling.
The book also contains Rawail’s experiences while making his own films Love Story (1981), Betaab (1983), Arjun (1985), Dacait (1987), Anjaam (1994) and Arjun Pandit (1999), along with insights into how important aspects of his cinema could be traced to his internship with Kapoor.
Rawail launched the acting careers of Kumar Gaurav, Vijeta Pandit, Sunny Deol, Amrita Singh, Paresh Rawal, Kajol and Aishwarya Rai.
The book is available for pre-order on Amazon and will be released on 14 December, the birth anniversary of Raj Kapoor.