PrashantNews
Remembering Raj Kapoor on his 100th birth anniversary falling on Dec 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the Bollywood great had established the soft power of India at a time when the term itself was not coined.
“This was an immense contribution of Raj Kapoor in service of India,” Modi said during his candid meeting with the Kapoor family including Ranbir and Kareena.
Modi remarked that the 100th birth anniversary celebrations of Raj Kapoor symbolised the saga of the golden journey of Indian film Industry. He added that the movie ‘Neel Kamal’ was made in 1947 and now we were heading to 2047 and the contribution during these 100 years was momentous.
The Prime Minister urged the Kapoor family to make a movie, especially catering to Central Asia, about Raj Kapoor who is still mesmerising the people there even after so many years. He added that Raj Kapoor had an impact on their lives. Modi highlighted to the family that there was a huge potential for Indian cinema in Central Asia and there was a need to work towards tapping the same. “We must put in efforts to make it reach to the new generations in Central Asia and urged the family to create a movie which would act as a link,” he said.
Recollecting the power of cinema, Modi cited an incident when the erstwhile Jan Sangh party had lost the elections in Delhi. Atal Behari Vajpayee and L K Advani then decided to watch Raj Kapoor’s movie ‘Phir Subah Hogi’, meaning there will be a dawn again. He added that the party had now seen the dawn again. Modi also recollected an incident when he sent a recording of a song being played in China to late Rishi Kapoor which elated the latter.
Ranbir Kapoor informed the Prime Minister that the Kapoor family was doing a retrospective of Raj Kapoor on 13th, 14th and 15th December 2024. He thanked the Government of India, NFDC and NFAI for their help. He said that the family had given 10 of his films and restored their audio and visual, which would be exhibited in 160 theatres in around 40 cities all over India. Kapoor informed the PM that the premiere show would be held on the 13th December in Mumbai and they had invited the entire film industry.