Studio paradiso

It was one of the biggest and most elaborate sets of my career. Razias wedding and coronation were shot in a lavish setting, says Hema Malini. Over nearly four years,Amrohi had created at Kamalistan the sets of Razia Sultana Gulabi Mahal,a lush garden for the rulers evening walks,a fountain-dotted arena for her to practise sword-fighting and other regal trappings. After the grand spectacle,the studio went on to become the backdrop of several hits such as Naseeb 1981,Raaj Tilak 1984,Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! 1994,Hum Saath Saath Hain 1999,Jab We Met 2007 and the Golmaal series.

Till Amrohi started filming Razia Sultan 1983,the land off Mumbais Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road was lying barren. The writer-director had bought 223 acres of the land for Rs 2.5 lakh in the mid-50s. The owner was obliged to him and wanted to show his gratitude by not charging a high price, says Rukhsar,Amrohis daughter.

The land was not developed till Pakeezah became a success. With the profit from Pakeezah,he started developing the studio, says Rukhsar. Unfortunately,Razia Sultan didnt appeal to the masses. It came at the wrong time. The cinematic sensibilities of viewers had changed by then and it was the age of disco, she says. This broke Amrohis heart. He never directed another film,even though he had completed the script of Aakhri Mughal and recorded two songs composed by Khayyam for a proposed film called Raahat.

In the last decade of his life,the green environs of Kamalistan became his solace. Baba had planted 82 mango trees,apart from a good number of ashoka and coconut trees. Every day at 11 am,he would come to the studio and sit under his favourite mango tree,looking after the studios operations and meeting people, says Rukhsar,sitting on the studios lawns.

Razias gardens went on to become part of other filmmakers dreams. Now,they wait to be razed down. Last month,the 16-acre land most of the original 223 acres was sold or taken over by the government to build water reservoirs and roads over the years was sold to three builders for Rs 200 crore. The deal followed a protracted legal battle among Amrohis sons Shaandaar and Taajdaar and daughter Rukhsar all from his second marriage to Mehmoodie over its ownership. Though Rukhsar says the final transactions are yet to be carried out,she concedes that the demolition of the studio is an eventuality.

Till that happens,its business as usual at the studio. The rolling garden and the open arena with fountains greet visitors as they enter the studio. A little ahead is a crossing,with paths leading to a police station,a court and a hospital all ready-made sets. It can be mistaken for a small township,till a row of make-up rooms appear behind the police station. The most striking set is Shimla House. Like a quaint house in the hills,it has an asbestos roof and a spacious verandah,facing a railway station on one side and a village on the other.

The studio was Amrohis biggest undertaking. Before setting up Kamalistan,he was associated with Natraj and Ashok studios. He never wanted to sell this property. He wanted to set up a trust which would have prevented its sale till his grandchildren were at least 40 years old. Had the studio been a loss-making institution,they would have been free to sell it, says Rukhsar,one of the managing directors of Mahal Pictures that owns the studio. The trust couldnt materialise before Amrohis death in 1993,thanks to his childrens legal wranglings over their share of the property.

Despite the tussle,the family continued to develop Kamalistan. To boost the studios income,we added a police station,court,hospital,village,temple and a railway station. The bookings shot up with the television boom, says Rukhsar. Currently,TV soaps like Thoda Hai Bas Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai,Bhagyavidhata and Naa Aana Iss Desh Laado are being shot there. Rukhsar cites Rajshri Productions,David Dhawan and Mahesh Manjrekar among studio regulars. Even Yash Chopra has used the studio in the past, she says.

The open space as well as flexibility of sets that the studio provides has been its USP. Its easy to create anything we want in its open space. We also have the option of improvising the existing sets. We can shoot hospital,police station and railway station scenes without bothering about official clearances. It is the citys largest studio after Film City, says Rohit Shetty,director of the Golmaal series. For him,the unique feature of the studio is its railway station set the only one in Mumbai. The famous scene from the 2007 hit Jab We Met when Kareena Kapoor is being stalked by eve-teasers at a railway station was filmed there.

The studios locationit is near Mumbais lifeline,Link Roadtoo has been an advantage. This and its special sets have been a draw for Karan Razdan since his television days. We shot several episodes of Tehkikaat and Yeh Hai Raaz at its courtroom and police station. I have also used the sets of Razia Sultan for my TV shows and films, says the writer-director,who recently shot his upcoming horror film Aagaah there. Nearly 40 per cent of his Mittal Vs Mittal was shot at its courtroom.

Nobody celebrated the studios advantages as much as Manmohan Desai did. Kamalistan was his lucky mascot. At least a part of each of his productions after Dharam Veer 1977 has been shot there. His son Ketan Desai recounts what led to his fathers Kamalistan fixation. We were looking for a big,open area to create the arena for Dharam Veer. Only after selecting a huge chunk of barren land for it did we realise that it belongs to the studio. The film was a huge hit and my father went back there to shoot the Sabse bada tera naam Sherawali song in Suhaag 1979 and several sequences for his films,including Coolie 1983 and Mard 1985, he says. After his fathers death,Ketan went back to Kamalistan to shoot the hospital and train sequences for Deewana Mastana 1997.

Several film studios,including Natraj and Shree Sound Studio,have been transformed into commercial complexes. Others such as Mohan Studio have turned into residential complexes. Once Kamalistan follows their fate,only memories personal and cinematic will remain. Even the roomful of memorabilia,books,framed photographs and antique cupboards and couches all belonging to Amrohi and carefully preserved by Rukhsar have to find a new place. Only 12 cartons of books from his collection will be dispatched to Aligarh Muslim University.

Every time,one takes the express highway adjacent to the residential complex the studio may give way to,the Kamalistan bus stop right opposite it will be a reminder of its cinematic past.