Rajshri Productions and the Man Behind Hits

Rajshri Productions has been a legacy left behind the great Tarachand Barjatya and there's no denying his quality work. Bollywood all the way from the 60s to 80s was filled in with his brilliant films that won a lot of hearts and became huge hits among the fans.

A face behind the many successful films; Image Source: The Quint

Recently Rajshri Productions completed a total of 74 years and hopefully, Tarachand Barjatya is resting at ease with that fact. Barjatya had always been a kid who was much amused by the world of films rather than studying, and it became evident once he grew up and worked hard for something which is renowned among everyone today. Born on 10th May 1914 in a Marwari family he completed school with a little interest and then got admitted to Vidyasagar College Kolkata with his father standing over his head asking him to study law.

While he did go to college, Barjatya ended up being that student in the class who would stretch on the last seat reading film magazines, weaving a dream of something entirely different. Not neglected by his father, his ambitions were taken into consideration and he was thus sent off to Moti Mahal theatres for an apprenticeship. Enrolled in 1933, Barjatya put in a total of five years efforts and worked hard to the point everyone there started appreciating him. Soon he was asked to head Chamaria Talkie Distributors, which was a segment under Moti Mahal theatres in Chennai that had been downsloping with work and projects.

Taranchand's excellent communication and way of working turned the tables there and helped Chamaria Talkie win back its reputation. This work experience in return helped Barjatya make many associations with other producers like Gemini Studios, AVM productions, Vijay productions etc.

His way of working thus ended up becoming fruitful for both himself and the company too. As miraculous as it sounds, the story behind Tarachand's decision of establishing Rajshri Productions is no less of an impromptu and exciting story in itself. There happened to be a time when the famous producer S.S Vasan had produced the expensive Chandralekha in the Malayalam film industry, but the film didn't perform well at all with the masses. Caught in doubts and disappointment, Vasan asked Tarachand if there was a way out or not. He in return replied if the movie could be dubbed into Hindi somehow and Vasan seemed to like the idea but was not familiar with Hindi at all.

That's when a golden opportunity came striking his way. Tarachand was given the duty of distributing the movie throughout India and with a strong will in mind, he took a risky yet powerful leap of faith overnight. Among all the instant decisions on the night of 15th August 1947, a newly formed Rajshri Pictures Pvt. Ltd. took its baby steps.

Allegorical to the independence of India, Rajshri Productions was like a by-product of all the independent efforts of Tarachand Barjatya. As one can guess, Chandralekha became a huge success in the Hindi cinema world and Barjatya's journey had thus started. He soon took on films like Sheesh Mahal and Baiju Bawara which also turned out as huge hits. Everyone he had previously got associated with while working under Moti Mahal Theatres had helped him and become quite the reliable lot he could trust.

Once the journey started, Barjatya never looked back. After expanding the company and his own family, he decided on establishing Rajshri Productions Pvt. Ltd. in 1960.

By 1962, he rolled out a premier under the newly named production house which was Aarti. As the film soared high and was on its way to being a huge hit, Tarachand gave out more movies like Dosti, Suraj, and Taqdeer. Although he was called out on his repetitive themes of friendships and family bonds, Tarachand produced what he lived for. With no grudges and pure love, he continued with his genre of films and people too loved it.

In the 70s, Rajshri Productions had helped introduce many big actors to the big screens like Raakhee with Dharmendra in the film Jeevan Mrityu, Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab through Chitchor, Mithun Chakraborty and Ranjeeta Kaur through Tarana. With at least 20 films under the banner, Rajshri Productions was carried on now by Tarachand and his sons as well. The 70s further saw some of the best artists get featured through the banner whether it was Amitabh Bacchan or Naseeruddin Shah.

Although production houses at that time shifted their focus to crime and violent films, Rajshri Productions kept in touch with its roots. Many of its films also came down dropping as flops but with his sons in charge, working together, he knew things would soon look better. With that being said, Tarachand Barjatya entrusted all his faith into then hands of both his sons and grandsons and took a heavenly abode on 21st September 1898 after the release of the popular hit Maine Pyaar Kiya. Despite his absence, Rajshri Productions was successful in giving out hits that we all loved watching like Vivaah, Hum Saath Saath Hai, Main Prem Ki Diwaani Hoon, Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo etc. All thanks to Tarachand Barjatya and his young dreams filled with fuel. You are forever missed.