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Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work
'If cinema did not exist, I would be non-existent.' - Raj Kapoor In this warm, thoughtful memoir, veteran filmmaker Rahul Rawail goes back to his days spent in R.K. Studios where he was nurtured and taught to handle the ropes of filmmaking from the Master himself-Raj Kapoor. Through stories only he can tell, Rawail delves not only into the techniques of the legendary filmmaker, but also into hitherto unknown aspects of Raj Kapoor's eccentric personality-his quirky sense of humour, his insights into life, the relationship he shared with his crew and his associations with artists of three generations. The book also examines how the lessons he learnt under the tutelage of Raj Kapoor carried Rahul Rawail through directing his own blockbuster films including Love Story, Betaab, Arjun and Dacait. Raj The Master at Work offers unique insights into what it took for Raj Kapoor to be an exceptional filmmaker, with his understanding of human emotions, virtues of music and the art of visual storytelling. Within these pages, one sees behind the enigma who lived and breathed cinema, in his before-seen role as a teacher, mentor, parent and guru.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 2, 2022
RAJ KAPOOR THE MASTER AT WORK by @betaab83
@pranika.ps
@bloomsburyindia
“When you shoot keep the camera angles simply. Don't complicate your shots leading to a visual narrative that complicates the mind of the viewer. Every short should seamlessly flow into the next thereby forming a smooth narrative.”
“When people are going through hardships in life, they should project a smiling face so others don't realise their pathos but see a smiling world around them.”
Raj Kapoor's The Master At Work is a biography of the greatest showman of Indian cinema and a noted Indian film actor, producer and director. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers and actors in the history of Indian cinema.
If the technical facets of cinema fascinate you, this book will satisfy the purpose. In this beautiful memoir, Rahul Rawail categorically explains the casting, scouting locations, working with actors, costumes, cinematography, lighting, music direction, sound recording, editing, and the other stuff related to filmmaking.
The book is a culmination of detailed insights into the personal and professional life of Raj Kapoor. For those of us born later and who never witnessed 'The Phenomenon' of Raj Kapoor's sense of cinema, his massive fan following, the book is an eye-opener and will blow you away. Rawail also subtly discussed some of Raj Kapoor's best works: 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑎 𝑁𝑎𝑎𝑚 𝐽𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑟 (1970) and 𝐵𝑜𝑏𝑏𝑦 (1973).
The book is not written in a masala oriented way. There's so much to learn in this book. Raj Kapoor's enthusiasm with cinema, the art of characterizing emotions, and what it means to be creative.
Interesting.
@pranika.ps
@bloomsburyindia
“When you shoot keep the camera angles simply. Don't complicate your shots leading to a visual narrative that complicates the mind of the viewer. Every short should seamlessly flow into the next thereby forming a smooth narrative.”
“When people are going through hardships in life, they should project a smiling face so others don't realise their pathos but see a smiling world around them.”
Raj Kapoor's The Master At Work is a biography of the greatest showman of Indian cinema and a noted Indian film actor, producer and director. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers and actors in the history of Indian cinema.
If the technical facets of cinema fascinate you, this book will satisfy the purpose. In this beautiful memoir, Rahul Rawail categorically explains the casting, scouting locations, working with actors, costumes, cinematography, lighting, music direction, sound recording, editing, and the other stuff related to filmmaking.
The book is a culmination of detailed insights into the personal and professional life of Raj Kapoor. For those of us born later and who never witnessed 'The Phenomenon' of Raj Kapoor's sense of cinema, his massive fan following, the book is an eye-opener and will blow you away. Rawail also subtly discussed some of Raj Kapoor's best works: 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑎 𝑁𝑎𝑎𝑚 𝐽𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑟 (1970) and 𝐵𝑜𝑏𝑏𝑦 (1973).
The book is not written in a masala oriented way. There's so much to learn in this book. Raj Kapoor's enthusiasm with cinema, the art of characterizing emotions, and what it means to be creative.
Interesting.
July 11, 2022
This is a poorly written book, using middle school prose, and yet somehow endorsed by RK’s family! The author is apparently a Bollywood director who did his apprenticeship under RK for many years. If you want to know how the author worships RK, this book is for you - for he filled every page with RK's 'bhajan', to the extent it irritates even ardent fans of the showman.
There are many Hindi lines, and the author din't bother to offer a translation for readers not fluent in Hindi.
My biggest problem with this book is the inaccuracies it contained. For instance, on pages 25 and 26, he presents 'an interesting backstory' about L.V. Prasad. He says that L.V. Prasad "had burst into tears" when Raj Kapoor did not give him a chance as an assistant director for his film 'Barsaat' (1949). This can't be true. L.V. Prasad was already a veteran to the Indian film industry by 1948 - having worked in the industry since 1931. He had the distinction of working on the first talkie films of Hindi (Alam Aara), Telugu (Bhakta Prahlada) and Tamil (Kaalidas). By 1948, he already directed three superhit movies in Telugu (Griha Pravesham - 1946; Palnati Yudham - 1947; Drohi - 1948). What more? In 1948, when the said 'Barsaat incident' happened, L.V. Prasad was busy in Madras directing his 4th Telugu feature film 'Mana Desham' (in which he introduced none other than the great NTR.) It doesn't make sense that he'd go and beg RK for a chance and burst into tears upon denial.
That's just one example of how unreliable this book is.
There are many Hindi lines, and the author din't bother to offer a translation for readers not fluent in Hindi.
My biggest problem with this book is the inaccuracies it contained. For instance, on pages 25 and 26, he presents 'an interesting backstory' about L.V. Prasad. He says that L.V. Prasad "had burst into tears" when Raj Kapoor did not give him a chance as an assistant director for his film 'Barsaat' (1949). This can't be true. L.V. Prasad was already a veteran to the Indian film industry by 1948 - having worked in the industry since 1931. He had the distinction of working on the first talkie films of Hindi (Alam Aara), Telugu (Bhakta Prahlada) and Tamil (Kaalidas). By 1948, he already directed three superhit movies in Telugu (Griha Pravesham - 1946; Palnati Yudham - 1947; Drohi - 1948). What more? In 1948, when the said 'Barsaat incident' happened, L.V. Prasad was busy in Madras directing his 4th Telugu feature film 'Mana Desham' (in which he introduced none other than the great NTR.) It doesn't make sense that he'd go and beg RK for a chance and burst into tears upon denial.
That's just one example of how unreliable this book is.
January 3, 2022
Coming from a person who worked as an assistant director with Raj Kapoor, this book has a lot of good anecdotes about the greatest showman and also speaks of his craft.
The writing is average and the book feels like one long interview.
What worked- good insights about the master showman.
What did not work - the writing could have been more engaging.
Recommended for movie buffs.
The writing is average and the book feels like one long interview.
What worked- good insights about the master showman.
What did not work - the writing could have been more engaging.
Recommended for movie buffs.
March 28, 2022
As a child, I had a huge crush on Raj Kapoor. It was an amazing moment to rekindle my memories of films like Awara, Barsat, Mera Naam Joker, and Bobby through this amazing memoir. Despite more than 30years of him having left this mortal world, Raj Kapoor is one name that every Bollywood movie enthusiast knows. He belonged to the golden era of Bollywood and is credited for acting/directing some of the most successful Hindi films of his era.
Rahul Rawail worked as Raj Kapoor's assistant director during the start of his career and had the opportunity to learn the art of filmmaking from the master himself. This memoir not only rekindles Rahul Rawail's time with the legend but also gives an impressive account of how meticulous, dedicated, and focused Raj Kapoor was on the art of filmmaking. His focus on details and nuances of a scene and zeal to go to any extent to film a scene exactly the way he imagined, are key to the tremendous success his films have garnered.
This memoir has 3 very distinct sections, though not specifically mentioned one can easily notice. The first section gives details of Raj Kapoor's style and method of filmmaking and gives a glimpse of him as a director and a master of the craft, which also relates to the title of the book. There is a lot to learn about the basic art of filmmaking from this portion of the book. The second section contains memories from the shooting days of Rishi Kapoor's debut film, Bobby, in which Rahul Rawail worked as assistant director. This has some funniest moments to make the readers laugh out loud (I did!). And, the third section is about Rahul Rawail's experience as an independent director and how Raj Kapoor always guided him with his expertise.
What this book does not have is any mention of Raj Kapoor's personal life and the controversies he was involved in. For gossip lovers, this book may have very less to enjoy. But for general readers, this book is very informative and engaging. One can get a really good insight into the nuances of filmmaking and have some hearty laughs too. The author's writing style is very light and humorous. She has very efficiently set the tone for each section based on inputs provided by Rahul Rawail.
Recommended? Yes!
⭐⭐⭐⭐.25/5
P.S. I ended up watching Awara and Bobby films while reading this book which made it even more enjoyable to relate to the behind-the-scenes stories. I also spent a lot of time googling and getting to know about the people/films Rahul Rawail has mentioned in this book.
Rahul Rawail worked as Raj Kapoor's assistant director during the start of his career and had the opportunity to learn the art of filmmaking from the master himself. This memoir not only rekindles Rahul Rawail's time with the legend but also gives an impressive account of how meticulous, dedicated, and focused Raj Kapoor was on the art of filmmaking. His focus on details and nuances of a scene and zeal to go to any extent to film a scene exactly the way he imagined, are key to the tremendous success his films have garnered.
This memoir has 3 very distinct sections, though not specifically mentioned one can easily notice. The first section gives details of Raj Kapoor's style and method of filmmaking and gives a glimpse of him as a director and a master of the craft, which also relates to the title of the book. There is a lot to learn about the basic art of filmmaking from this portion of the book. The second section contains memories from the shooting days of Rishi Kapoor's debut film, Bobby, in which Rahul Rawail worked as assistant director. This has some funniest moments to make the readers laugh out loud (I did!). And, the third section is about Rahul Rawail's experience as an independent director and how Raj Kapoor always guided him with his expertise.
What this book does not have is any mention of Raj Kapoor's personal life and the controversies he was involved in. For gossip lovers, this book may have very less to enjoy. But for general readers, this book is very informative and engaging. One can get a really good insight into the nuances of filmmaking and have some hearty laughs too. The author's writing style is very light and humorous. She has very efficiently set the tone for each section based on inputs provided by Rahul Rawail.
Recommended? Yes!
⭐⭐⭐⭐.25/5
P.S. I ended up watching Awara and Bobby films while reading this book which made it even more enjoyable to relate to the behind-the-scenes stories. I also spent a lot of time googling and getting to know about the people/films Rahul Rawail has mentioned in this book.
April 2, 2022
Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work by Rahul Rawail as told to Pranika Sharma is a timeless book about a timeless man.
Through the pages of this memoir you’re taken back many decades, to a time when the master, the exceptional filmmaker, the enigma Raj Kapoor lived for films.
This memoir is an ode to Raj Kapoor by his mentee Rahul Rawail, who has endlessly expressed his gratitude for having had the opportunity to learn his art under the maestro himself. Reading the many instances where Mr.Rawail learnt his art simply by being in the presence of such a man made me just a tad bit jealous. Mostly because I feel in today’s fast paced world where everyone is for themselves, we’re missing out on opportunities to have mentors who would teach us simply by being themselves, today finding a mentor as such is supremely rare.
The book goes on to share lessons on filmmaking which can be learnt from Raj Kapoor’s style of working, especially his super hit movie Bobby. Rahul Rawail also talks about how he incorporated his learnings as a director in his own movies - Love Story, Betaab, Arjun and Dacait. There are simply so many trivia worthy stories within these pages & I was awestruck by many.
My most favorite chapter in the book was Lesson 1: Concepts and Inspirations. This chapter reinforces the fact that inspiration can come from anyone, anything & at any time & place. I LOVED reading about how the many inspirations and motivations he had to create some iconic scenes in Bollywood history.
Another chapter which was a favorite: The Obsessions and Eccentricities of the Genius which highlighted what a grand life this icon has lived. Raj Kapoor was most certainly an obsessive man, he obsessed over his Black Label Whiskey, his food & ofc his movies. He lived life king-size and on his own terms. He was aware of his stature & used it to his advantage when ever he could. A man like that not only draws attention but also admiration. One can tell his obsessions are what made him a genius! But the most important lesson to be learnt from his obsession over films is that he put the experience of his audience above all.
Thank you @bloomsburyindia for the wonderful review copy.
Through the pages of this memoir you’re taken back many decades, to a time when the master, the exceptional filmmaker, the enigma Raj Kapoor lived for films.
This memoir is an ode to Raj Kapoor by his mentee Rahul Rawail, who has endlessly expressed his gratitude for having had the opportunity to learn his art under the maestro himself. Reading the many instances where Mr.Rawail learnt his art simply by being in the presence of such a man made me just a tad bit jealous. Mostly because I feel in today’s fast paced world where everyone is for themselves, we’re missing out on opportunities to have mentors who would teach us simply by being themselves, today finding a mentor as such is supremely rare.
The book goes on to share lessons on filmmaking which can be learnt from Raj Kapoor’s style of working, especially his super hit movie Bobby. Rahul Rawail also talks about how he incorporated his learnings as a director in his own movies - Love Story, Betaab, Arjun and Dacait. There are simply so many trivia worthy stories within these pages & I was awestruck by many.
My most favorite chapter in the book was Lesson 1: Concepts and Inspirations. This chapter reinforces the fact that inspiration can come from anyone, anything & at any time & place. I LOVED reading about how the many inspirations and motivations he had to create some iconic scenes in Bollywood history.
Another chapter which was a favorite: The Obsessions and Eccentricities of the Genius which highlighted what a grand life this icon has lived. Raj Kapoor was most certainly an obsessive man, he obsessed over his Black Label Whiskey, his food & ofc his movies. He lived life king-size and on his own terms. He was aware of his stature & used it to his advantage when ever he could. A man like that not only draws attention but also admiration. One can tell his obsessions are what made him a genius! But the most important lesson to be learnt from his obsession over films is that he put the experience of his audience above all.
Thank you @bloomsburyindia for the wonderful review copy.
March 24, 2022
"In any creative pursuit, experiencing and understanding the emotions - fear, humiliation, defeat, losing a loved one, break-up of a relationship - all are necessary as they strengthen your understanding of life and thus make you creatively richer."
All of my childhood was filled with songs from Raj Kapoor's films as my parents loved his work. I've seen his movie 'Mera Naam Joker' at least a few times and it never fails to surprise me with it's sheer brilliance. And when I got a mail from Bloomsbury for reviewing this book, I jumped at the opportunity!
In this book, filmmaker Rahul Rawail goes back to his time spent as an assistant director in R.K. studios where he learnt the craft of filmmaking from the master himself - Raj Kapoor. He talks about many unknown aspects of the yesteryear superstar's life like his quirky sense of humour, his life insights, his relationships with crew members and his close associations wit artists of three generations.
The author shares many lessons he learnt from the great actor about being a director and a good human being. He helps the reader dive into the world of an exceptional filmmaker and what all goes on behind the screen, visual storytelling, music and art. Mr. Kapoor was a man who lived and breathed cinema but he was also a great teacher, mentor, parent and guru.
I loved reading the tidbits of Raj Kapoor's life here. It was an enlightening as well as a fun read. There are so many prominent things about his personal and professional life showcased in this book. If you love the art of filmmaking, it is a must-read!
All of my childhood was filled with songs from Raj Kapoor's films as my parents loved his work. I've seen his movie 'Mera Naam Joker' at least a few times and it never fails to surprise me with it's sheer brilliance. And when I got a mail from Bloomsbury for reviewing this book, I jumped at the opportunity!
In this book, filmmaker Rahul Rawail goes back to his time spent as an assistant director in R.K. studios where he learnt the craft of filmmaking from the master himself - Raj Kapoor. He talks about many unknown aspects of the yesteryear superstar's life like his quirky sense of humour, his life insights, his relationships with crew members and his close associations wit artists of three generations.
The author shares many lessons he learnt from the great actor about being a director and a good human being. He helps the reader dive into the world of an exceptional filmmaker and what all goes on behind the screen, visual storytelling, music and art. Mr. Kapoor was a man who lived and breathed cinema but he was also a great teacher, mentor, parent and guru.
I loved reading the tidbits of Raj Kapoor's life here. It was an enlightening as well as a fun read. There are so many prominent things about his personal and professional life showcased in this book. If you love the art of filmmaking, it is a must-read!
February 19, 2022
Raj Kapoor was one of the few Indians whom we can call genius. This book by his assistant gives us a close glimpse into the filmmaker and his eccentric way to create the perfect film. The second part of the book is dedicated to Rahul's filmography and how Raj Kapoor influenced him.
My grouse was wish the book was more detailed and Rahul's filmography deserved another book.
My grouse was wish the book was more detailed and Rahul's filmography deserved another book.
December 13, 2023
Not the biggest fan of biographical accounts but this one has to be an exception. My exposure to RK initially was limited to his iconic works. But this book offers an in-depth view of his process of film-making, his creative quirks and some hilarious anecdotes involving him and people he worked with.
April 28, 2022
It teaches you to not be over ambitious and a thousand more things.
The Style is phenomenal. Taking away a lot from this masterpiece.
The Style is phenomenal. Taking away a lot from this masterpiece.
July 2, 2022
Brilliant Insight on the Showman
March 14, 2023
This book describes the filmmaking process of some of the popular hits of Raj Kapoor. Raj kapoor as a personality and his habits through the experiences of Rahul Rawail as one of his closest Assistant Directors who worked with him through some of his biggest films in the history of the Hindi Film Industry. A book that's written In about 25 Chapters and taking you on 60 years journey of cinema.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews