Raj Kapoor’s 1985 masterpiece ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ blended raw emotion with unforgettable melodies, courtesy stars like Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor. The soundtrack’s jewel, ‘Ek Radha Ek Meera’, remains a devotional hit, evoking bhakti and romance in equal measure.
Randhir Kapoor, marking his birthday, delighted ‘Kapil Sharma’ viewers with a vivid recollection of how the song joined his father’s film. Delhi stage: Ravindra Jain sings the hypnotic lines. Raj Kapoor’s reaction? Pure enchantment, followed by crowd frenzy. He begged for more, then probed its roots.
‘Private song,’ Jain said. Raj’s retort: ‘Now it’s mine!’ Hijinks followed with Jain’s lap-sitting stunt. Next evening at the Kapoors’, a musical setup awaited. Raj spotlighted ‘his’ tune repeatedly. Post-performance, out came the cheque—25,000 rupees—sealing Jain’s entry into the project with joyful sobs.
The frenzy peaked in Pune’s studios, where four days yielded a complete album of hits. Raj confided in Randhir: narrative stemmed from the song’s theme. A pure-hearted girl from hills faces worldly pollution, her journey like the Ganges—from pristine peaks to murky valleys, innocence eroded by reality.
Through Randhir’s eyes, we see Raj Kapoor’s legendary spontaneity: spotting gold in a tune and building an empire around it. This is the lore that keeps ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ alive, a testament to Bollywood’s golden era of passion and innovation.