Get up early on a holiday. Rush to school. Line up at the quadrangle. Find your division. One arm distance.

Now do this on 2 days every year, for only 10 something years - and you'll remember it for the rest of your life. If not that, you might end up getting nostalgic about the Frooti and Samosa.

Stand At Ease, Attention!

Flag hoisting ceremonies are memorable. In a way - special. Even more, if you're from the 1968-69 batch of students of St. Anthony's Girls High School and O.L.P.S. High School in Chembur, Mumbai. The latter also happens to be my alma mater, and every time I look at the 1957 institution - it makes me go "Tumse Achha Kaun Hai".

Why? Because the schools have an interesting connection with the 1969 film, 'Tumse Achha Kaun Hai'. No surprises though!

Yes, the scene above is from the song ‘Ganga Meri Maa Ka Naam’ from the same movie starring Shammi Kapoor, Babita Shivdasani, Pran, Mehmood, Aruna Irani, and Lalita Pawar.

You can see Shammi Kapoor singing the patriotic song in the scene above as the students queue up in rows - just like how all of us would - if we were lining-up in school today.

Students or Actors?

The students you see in the film are not actors, but rather the ones actually studying there during the academic year 1968-69.

The two schools share a boundary wall and are convent girls & boys schools. However, for this song - students from both institutions were brought together. You can see the wall here behind the flag pole, and the boys school building too (partially).

The Kapoors and Chembur

It’s no secret that the Kapoors grew up in Chembur, and also ran the famous R.K.Studios here (pictured below). Why they chose to shoot the scene here? Not so sure.

One reason could be that, Chembur; back in the day, had multiple film studios. Asha Studio, R.K. Studio, Basant Studio, and Essel Studio are some that I can think of right now. In addition to that, several film personalities made the Garden Suburb their home over the years. Was that the reason though? I still wonder sometimes.

Just like one might wonder why the opening sequence of the 1957 film, 'Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke' was shot here. A young Jagdeep is seen having a conversation in the compound of St. Anthony's High School. This, back when the area was still developing. Take a look at some of the frames from the film below.

The film - starring Master Romi, Satish Vyas, Daisy Irani, Jagdeep, David, Maruti, Murad, B.M. Vyas, and Mohan - was a Super Hit in 1957 and won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film.

Star Students

Over the years, both schools have seen several film personalities graduate. To name some - there's Shilpa Shetty, Shamita Shetty, Shreya Ghoshal, Vidya Balan from St. Anthony's Girls High School - and Anil Kapoor, Shankar Mahadevan, Tinu Anand, Arman Kohli, and Ram Sampath from OLPS High School. Only the coming years will tell if the institutions continue to maintain their historic association with Indian cinema. And that's a wrap for today's #MumbaiMatinee.

#BIMBLINGINBOMBAY PRESENTS ‘MUMBAI MATINEE’ - A SERIES THAT CONNECTS CINEMA, HERITAGE, BOMBAY AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN BETWEEN.