Love in Tokyo was part of a trilogy of romance conducted in interesting places and featuring the apple-cheeked charms of Joy Mukherjee. Pramod Chakravorty’s 1966 love story was preceded by Love in Simla and followed in Love in Bombay. Mukherjee plays Ashok, the scion of a wealthy family who loses his heart to Asha (Asha Parekh) whom he meets in the Japanese capital. Filled with the colourful hedonism of the 1960s, Love in Tokyo provides a heavily subsidised tour of Japan and has a popular soundtrack by Shankar-Jaikishan, including “Sayonara Sayonara” and “Mujhe Tum Mile Gaye Humdum.”
The song “Sayonara Sayonara” introduced the Japanese farewell greeting to countless Indians, including Manish Prabhune, who remembers watching the movie on Doordarshan as a boy. Prabhune moved to Tokyo in 1998 for a posting at a branch of New India Assurance, and he continues to work in the city. Prabhune visited the locations used in the 1966 film and took photographs from the same angles for his blog. How much has changed, and how much hasn’t? See 40-year-old Prabhune’s unique two-toned tribute to the magic of Love in Tokyo and the city itself in this set of photographs.
Hibiya Park, where “Sayonara Sayonara” was shot: “The pelican fountain still stands.”Imperial Palace: An elderly man told Prabhune that “the building on the extreme right was the old Imperial Hotel, which has since then been rebuilt”.The monorail that connects Haneda Airport to Minado Station was built in 1964. Prabhune says, “I returned from London last month and instead of going back home, strolled around the airport to locate the venue.” Tokyo Tower and the Zojoji Temple grounds are both highly popular with tourists. “The 333-foot structure inspired by the Eiffel Tower still stands tall and has various illuminations throughout the year,” Prabhune writes.Akasaka Mistuke Traffic Square: “The expressway is getting old and maintenance costs in a deflationary economy are rising every year,” Prabhune observes. “The Japan of 1966 was new and modern. Hopefully Olympics 2020 will reset the infrastructure and a modern new Tokyo will be ready in a couple of years.”Back to Hibiya Park, where the pelican statue needs a clean-up.In front of Tokyo station, where Joy Mukherjee picks up Asha Parekh only to drop her to the ground. It is being remodelled ahead of the 2020 Olympics.If it is neon, it must be Ginza, the iconic shopping district.“A disclaimer: I am not 100% sure about this location” despite “endless investigations”, Prabhune says, but it is most likely to be Ueno Park.
