Remembering producer director Raj Khosla 1925-91

Raj Khosla (31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) was one of the top directors, producers and screenwriters in Hindi films from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Born in Ludhiana, Punjab, he was trained to be a classical singer. He came to Bombay to look for work as a singer while working in All India Radio for while as a music staff.
Soon Dev Anand felt he had other talents and hired him to be Guru Dutt's assistant on films, and eventually he became director.
His directorial debut Milap (starring Dev Anand and Geeta Bali) in 1954 didn't click at the box office. But his second film, C.I.D., released in 1956 set the ball rolling and the young director never looked back.

Khosla explored a variety of styles be it crime thrillers (C.I.D., Kala Pani (1958)), musicals (Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) – whose starting point was seven songs composed by O. P. Nayyar), suspense thrillers (Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), Mera Saaya (1966), Anita (1967) – his mystery trilogy with actress Sadhana), melodramas (Do Badan (1966), Do Raaste (1969)) or dacoit dramas (Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971) – which inspired Sholay (1975)).

He made films after Mera Gaon Mera Desh and had hits like Prem Kahani (1975) starring the then hottest pair of the day Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz, Nehle Pe Dehla (1976) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978)

In Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki, he evoked sympathy for the mistress even as he told the story from the wife's point of view. Khosla was a director who understood women and was known as a women's director much like George Cukor in Hollywood.

After enjoying big hits like Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) and Dostana (1980) with Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman and Shatrughan Sinha, Khosla ran into some rough weather as his other films started flopping. A dispirited Khosla took refuge in alcohol and died in Mumbai on 9 June 1991, totally disillusioned with the film industry.
His most famous films are C.I.D. (1956) (which introduced Waheeda Rehman to Hindi audiences and made her a star, Woh Kaun Thi? (1964) (which gave Sadhana her signature role of the "mystery girl"), Do Badan (1966) (which made Asha Parekh into a serious actress and won Simi Garewal the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award), Do Raaste (1969) (which made Mumtaz into a household name), Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) (which won Nutan the Filmfare Best Actress Award at a mature age).

He was known for his excellent song picturisations, probably stemming from his musical background. Raj Khosla initially entered the Film Industry with hopes of making it as a playback singer. In most of his films he would have at least a song based on folk tune e.g. C.I.D., Bambai Ka Babu, Solva Saal, Mera Saaya, Do Raaste, Mera Gaon Mera Desh to name a few.