By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
अखियों के झरोखों से, मैने देखा जो सावरे
अखियों के झरोखों से, मैने देखा जो सावरे
तुम दूर नज़र आए, बड़ी दूर नज़र आए
बंद कर के झरोखों को, ज़रा बैठी जो सोचने
बंद कर के झरोखो को, ज़रा बैठी जो सोचने
मन मे तुम्ही मुस्काये, मन मे तुम्ही मुस्काये
अँखियों के झरोखों से
The name Tarachand Barjatya, founder of Rajshri Productions, is synonymous with producing neat & clean family entertainers starting with with “Aarti” starring Meena Kumari, Ashok Kumar, Pradeep Kumar & Shashikala & then ventured to highlight poverty, something the current generation frowns upon, in his next film “Dosti” (1964) starring unknown actors Sushil Kumar & Sudhir Kumar supported by Sanjay Khan, Baby Farida & Leela Mishra. The film did wonders on the music front with hit numbers like- “Chaahunga Main Tujhe Sanjh Savere”,”Koi Jab Raah Na Paaye”, “Raahi Manwa Dukh Ki Chinta”, “Jaanewalon Zara Mudke Dekho Mujhe” rendered by Mohd Rafi & Lata Mangshkar. The film also brought good fortune with Box office collection touching 2 crore in 1964.The film won six awards- from the seven nominations it received including Best film, Best Music & Best Playback .It was directed by Satyen Bose who surprisingly lost it to Raj Kapoor ( Sangam ).
The success of these films encouraged him to produce films like ‘Taqdeer’ (1967), ‘Jeevan Mrityu’ (1970), ‘Uphaar’ (1971), ‘ Piya Ka Ghar’ (1972), ‘Mere Bhaiya ‘ (1972) & ‘Chitchor’ (1976), predominantly showcasing characters from the middle class. The films that followed showed elements of wealth & richness with “Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye” (1977) “Maan Abhimaan” (1980) & “Abodh (1984)”. “Maine Pyar Kiya” ( 1989 ) starring Bhagyashree, Salman Khan & Mohnish Bahl was the last film he was associated with as producer. The budget of the film was 2 crore. The success of it can well be gauged by the fact that it collected 40 crore at Box office. I had visited the shooting site, albeit brief. I often visited their Chandni Chowk Delhi office, looked after by his son-in-law, in early 1980s
.It would be injustice if we did not mention his yet another film which was critically well acclaimed titled “Saaransh” (1984) featuring Anupam Kher, Rohini Hattangadi, Soni Razdan & Nilu Phule.The film showed unbelievable harsh realities suffered by the middle class. The film received seven nominations winning three -Best Actor( Anupam Kher) ,Best Story ( Mukesh Bhatt) & Best Art Direction by Madhukar Shinde at the 32nd Filmfare Awards.
The legacy later passed on to his son and grandson Sooraj Barjatya who made “Hum Aapke Hain Koun” on a lewish scale, some thing not commensurate with earlier films of Rajshree productions. It was declared a blockbuster & in reality turned Salman Khan into a Star. The film collected 250 crore against its budgeted cost of about 4.6 crore.
Tarachand Barjatya was born this Day in 1914 in Kuchaman City, Rajasthan.
