Raj Kapoor (pronounced[raːdʒkəˈpuːɾ]; 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988; born asRanbir Raj Kapoor)[2] was an Indian actor, film director, and producer, who worked inHindi cinema.[3] He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers in the history ofIndian cinema,[4] and has been referred to asThe Greatest Showman ofIndian Cinema[5] and as theCharlie Chaplin of Indian Cinema.[6][7][8][9]
His films were global commercial successes in parts of Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Africa, and theSoviet bloc.[15] TheGovernment of India honoured him with thePadma Bhushan in 1971 for his contributions tothe arts.[16] India's highest award in cinema, theDadasaheb Phalke Award, was bestowed to him in 1988 by the Government of India.
He is the nephew of actorTrilok Kapoor, who is the younger brother of his father. His first cousin was directorVijay Kapoor who was the son ofTrilok Kapoor and actorSubbiraj who was his father's sister's son. His father's cousin was film producerSurinder Kapoor, whose children are producerBoney Kapoor and actorsAnil Kapoor andSanjay Kapoor.[25] His father's maternal first cousins were actorsKamal Kapoor,Ravindra Kapoor, and Nandkishore Kapoor. Kamal's grandson is filmmakerGoldie Behl. His maternal first cousin, Juggal Kishore Mehra, was a singer, whose step-granddaughter,Salma Agha, later became an actress and singer.
Kapoor withNargis, in a poster for the 1950 filmPyar
Several films released in 1949 had a major influence on Kapoor's career.[32] His first releaseSunehre Din flopped commercially, but the next oneParivartan emerged a commercially successful venture while his third release,Mehboob Khan'sromantic dramaAndaz, which also starredDilip Kumar andNargis, went on to become highly successful at the box office.[33] This was followed byBarsaat, which he also directed and produced.[34] The film went ahead of the former, eventually emerging as the highest grossing Indian film of all time, breaking the record ofKismet.[35] It ran inKolkata'sParadise Cinema for almost two years.[36] The huge box office success ofAndaz andBarsaat made Kapoor one of the leading male stars of the time along with Dilip Kumar andDev Anand.[37]
The following year, he starred inSargam andDastan oppositeRehana andSuraiya, respectively.[38][39] Kapoor also acted in the 1950 filmPyar, which was not a hit movie and not a popular movie, and did not recive critical acclaim. In that film, the singers wereKishore Kumar,Geeta Dutt, andShamshad Begum. The film had a total of 9 songs, with Kishore Kumar singing 5 songs which were 2 solos and 3 duets. The 3 duets Kishore had was 2 duets with Geeta Dutt and 1 duet with Shmashad Begum. Geeta Dutt singing 6 songs, which were 2 duets with Kishore Kumar and 4 solos, and Shamshad Begum singing only one song which was only one duet with Kishore Kumar. This movie marked the first, and last time Kishore Kumar sang for Raj Kapoor, and it was rare for only one male singer to sing in one film as in most of his films, more than one playback singer sings for him in his films, and Raj Kapoor's major playback singers for him wereMukesh andManna Dey.
Kapoor had only one release in 1951 which was his own directional, thecrime dramaAwaara co-starringPrithviraj Kapoor and Nargis.[40] The film opened to highly positive response from critics as well as the audience and proved to be another major success for the actor.[41] Its soundtrack composed byShankar–Jaikishan was the best-sellingHindi film music album of the 1950s and became popular in foreign markets as well, especially in theSoviet Union,China,Turkey andAfghanistan.[42][43]Awaara also earned Kapoor a fan-following in Soviet Union where the film had approximately 100 million admissions and remains the third-most watched foreign film in the country.[44] In 1952, he reunited with Nargis forpsychological dramaAnhonee andcrime noirBewafa.[45][46] WhileAnhonee was a success,Bewafa only managed average returns.[47] This was followed by a minor setback, the next year as none of his films, includingAah andDhoon worked at the box office.[48]
After delivering a moderate fare withSharada in 1957, Kapoor delivered two successful films, the next year -Phir Subha Hogi andParvarish, both co-starringMala Sinha.[59][60] In 1959, he collaborated withHrishikesh Mukherjee for thecomedy drama filmAnari, which also hadNutan,Motilal andLalita Pawar in the lead.[61] The film took number one spot at the box office that year and was a blockbuster for Mukherjee whose last directionalMusafir received lukewarm response from audience.[62][63] The soundtrack ofAnari became one of the best-selling Hindi film album of the decade. Especially the song "Kisi Ki Muskurahaton Pe", a solo by Mukesh, was very popular.[52] For his performance in the film, Kapoor won his firstFilmfare Award for Best Actor.[64]
Kapoor lost stardom in the late-1960s as his subsequent releases, such asTeesri Kasam (1966),Diwana (1967),Around the World (1967) andSapnon Ka Saudagar (1968) were commercially unsuccessful.[73]In 1970, he starred, produced and directedMera Naam Joker, which took six years in making.[74] The film had an ensemble cast consisting ofSimi Garewal,Kseniya Ryabinkina,Padmini,Manoj Kumar,Dharmendra, Rajendra Kumar andRishi Kapoor (playing younger version of Kapoor). Upon release,Mera Naam Joker was heavily panned by critics and proved to be abox office bomb, eventually putting Kapoor into a financial crisis.[74] However, in later years, it attained cult status and is now considered one of his best films with film experts labelling it a "misunderstood masterpiece".[75] For portraying a kind-hearted clown in the film, Kapoor wonBFJA Award for Best Actor (Hindi).[76]
The following year, Kapoor produced and appeared alongside his son (Randhir Kapoor) and father inKal Aaj Aur Kal.[77] The film proved to be moderately successful and marked Shankar-Jaikishan's last collaboration with R. K. Films.[78] In 1973, he decided to launch Rishi to cover-up the losses incurred due to the box office failure ofMera Naam Joker,[79] in theromantic musicalBobby, which paired him opposite debutanteDimple Kapadia.[80] The film opened to thunderous commercial response, both in India as well as overseas and emerged anAll Time Blockbuster as well as the highest-grossing film of 1973.[81][82] In 1975, Kapoor returned to acting with two back-to-back successful films in Randhir Kapoor'sDharam Karam and Naresh Kumar'sDo Jasoos.[83] In 1978, he returned to the director's chair withSatyam Shivam Sundaram starringShashi Kapoor andZeenat Aman.[84] It ran into controversies and was accused of promoting "obscenity", but opened to positive reception from critics as well as audience and earned him a nomination in theFilmfare Award for Best Director category.[85][86]
In 1980, Kapoor appeared alongsideSanjay Khan and Zeenat Aman in the highly anticipated romantic dramaAbdullah.[87] Upon release, it did not live up to expectations and underperformed domestically, but was successful overseas due to his popularity in the Soviet Union.[88] In 1982, Kapoor once again directed his son Rishi in the romantic musical dramaPrem Rog oppositePadmini Kolhapure.[89] The film marked his return to social themes and emerged commercially successful at the box office as well as thesecond-highest grossing film of the year.[90][91][81] Its soundtrack composed byLaxmikant-Pyarelal was also very successful and proved to be one of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the decade.[92] The same year, he appeared alongside Shashi inAsit Sen'sVakil Babu, which marked his final film appearance.[93]
In 1985, he directed and produced romance filmRam Teri Ganga Maili, which had his youngest sonRajiv Kapoor and the then newcomerMandakini playing the lead roles.[94] Despite not having any stars,Ram Teri Ganga Maili took first spot at the box office that year and proved to be anAll Time Blockbuster and one of the biggest hits of the 1980s.[95][96] At the33rd Filmfare Awards, it won five awards, includingBest Film,Best Director for Kapoor andBest Music Director forRavindra Jain.[97]Ram Teri Ganga Maili was Kapoor's last work as he died in 1988. Few months before his death, he was working on anIndo-Pak cross-border love storyHenna, which was later directed and released by Randhir in 1991 and went on to become a major box office success.[98][81]
On 12 May 1946, Raj Kapoor married Krishna Malhotra (1930-2018), afirst cousin of his father Prithviraj.[99][100] She was then 16 and he was 22.[101] Krishna was one of nine siblings, and following her marriage, many of them joined the Hindi film industry. Her brothers,Rajendra Nath,Prem Nath andNarendra Nath, later became actors, and her sister Uma is married to actorPrem Chopra.[102]
Raj and Krishna Kapoor had five children: three sons, actorsRandhir Kapoor,Rishi Kapoor andRajiv Kapoor, and two daughters, Ritu Nanda and Rima Jain. Randhir is married to former actressBabita and is the father of actressesKarisma Kapoor andKareena Kapoor. Rishi's widow is actressNeetu Singh and their two children are daughter Riddhima Kapoor, and son, actorRanbir Kapoor. Raj Kapoor's elder daughter, Ritu Nanda, was married to industrialist Rajan Nanda (scion of the family which promoted and controls theEscorts group), and they had two children: daughter Nitasha Nanda and son,Nikhil Nanda, married toShweta, daughter of actorsAmitabh Bachchan andJaya Bachchan. Raj Kapoor's younger daughter, Rima Jain, is married to investment banker Manoj Jain and is the mother of Armaan Jain and Aadar Jain, both actors.
Both of Kapoor's brothers, all three of Kapoor's sons, two of Kapoor's daughters-in-law, three of Kapoor's grandchildren and a great-grandson are all actors in the Hindi film industry. His granddaughters Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor (daughters of Kapoor's eldest son Randhir), and grandson Ranbir Kapoor (son of Kapoor's second son Rishi) are the latestHindi cinema superstars from the Kapoor family, while another of his grandsons, Nikhil Nanda (Kapoor's daughter Ritu's son), is a noted industrialist. Nikhil's son,Agastya Nanda, made his acting debut withThe Archies in 2023.[103]
Kapoor had a longtime romantic relationship with renowned actressNargis Dutt during the 1940s and 1950s, despite being a married man, although neither ever publicly admitted to this.[104] The couple starred in several films together, includingAwaara andShree 420. As Kapoor would not leave his wife and children, Nargis ended their relationship afterChori Chori and married her co-starSunil Dutt with whom she fell in love on the set ofMother India (1957). In 2017, his second son Rishi confirmed his father's affairs in his autobiographyKhullam Khulla.[105][106][107]
Krishna Raj Kapoor died on 1 October 2018. Rajan Nanda, husband of Ritu Nanda, died on 5 August 2018. In January 2020, Ritu Nanda herself died. She was followed three months later by her younger brotherRishi, Kapoor's second son, who died in April 2020. Kapoor's third and youngest son,Rajiv, died in February 2021.[108][109][110]
Raj Kapoor suffered fromasthma in his later years; he died of complications related to the disease in 1988 at the age of 63. He collapsed at the event where he was to receive theDadasaheb Phalke Award inNew Delhi, and was taken to theAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for treatment. He was hospitalised for about a month before he succumbed to complications arising from his asthma.[111] At the time of his death, he was working on the movieHenna (an Indo-Pakistan based love story). The film was later completed by his sonsRandhir Kapoor andRishi Kapoor and was released in 1991.
His and his parents'samadhi is at their family farm "Rajbaugh", meaning the "gardens of king". Located inside the MIT Art Design and Technology University (MIT ADTU), Rajbaugh lies on the banks ofMula-Mutha River inLoni Kalbhor village 30 km east ofPune in Maharashtra. The Kapoor family sold part of 125 acres Rajbaugh to MIT ADTU which built a memorial for the Kapoor family on its campus. The memorial was unveiled in 2014 in the presence ofLata Mangeshkar and Kapoor clan. The Kapoor family memorial has 7 pagodas showing elements of Raj Kapoor's movies, a museum or viewing gallery which showcases family photographs and moments from his movie making from 1945 to 1990. Raj Kapoor shot many of his films at this farm, includingSatyam Shivam Sundaram,Mera Naam Joker,Bobby, andPrem Rog. The family bungalow inside the farm has been preserved; the popular song "Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Ho" was shot inside this bungalow.[112][113][114][115][116]
Raj Kapoor alongside a delegation of writers from Soviet Uzbekistan (Sami Abduqahhor etc.), 1950s, India
Raj Kapoor is often referred asThe Greatest Showman of Indian Cinema in the Indian media.[117][118][119]Film historians and movie buffs speak of him as the "Charlie Chaplin ofIndian cinema", since he often portrayed a tramp-like figure, who, despite adversity, was still cheerful and honest. His movies were popular in large parts of South/Central/Southeast Asia, the formerSoviet Union/Bloc, China, the Middle East, and Africa; his movies were global commercial successes.
A postage stamp, bearing his face, was released byIndia Post to honour him on 14 December 2001. To honour him, a brass statue of his was unveiled atWalk of the Stars atBandra Bandstand inMumbai in March 2012.
Many of Raj Kapoor's movies had a patriotic theme. His filmsAag,Shree 420 andJis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (In the country where the Ganges flows) celebrated the newly independent India, and encouraged film-goers to be patriots. Raj Kapoor commissioned these famous lyrics forMera Joota Hai Japani, a song from the movieShree 420:
Mera joota hai Japani (My shoes are Japanese)
Ye patloon Inglistani (These trousers are English)
Sar pe lal topi Roosi (The red cap on my head is Russian)
Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani (But still, however, my heart is Indian)
The song is still extremely popular and has been featured in a number of movies sinceShree 420 was released. Indian authorMahasweta Devi stopped the show with her inaugural speech at the 2006Frankfurt Book Fair when she used these lyrics to express her own heartfelt patriotism and debt to her country.
Kapoor appeared inBox Office India's "Top Actors" list twelve times from 1949 to 1960.[37]
Apart from his success as an actor, Kapoor is also considered one of the greatest directors ofIndian cinema.[121] The films directed by him, such asShree 420 (1955),Sangam (1964),Bobby (1973) andRam Teri Ganga Maili (1985) are among the biggest hits of all time with each one having footfalls ranging from 40–50 million or even more.[81][122]
In 2014,Google commemorated his 90th birthday.[123]
Raj Kapoor was a canny judge offilmi music and lyrics. Many of the songs he commissioned are evergreen hits. He introduced the music directorsShankar–Jaikishan and the lyricistsHasrat Jaipuri andShailendra. He is also remembered for his strong sense of visual style. He used striking visual compositions, elaborate sets, and dramatic lighting to complete the mood set by the music. He introduced the actressesNimmi,Dimple Kapadia, andMandakini, as well as launching and reviving the careers of his sons Rishi, Randhir and Rajiv.
Famous for making his actresses reveal the body, not very common then in Indian cinema, it was said his 'show-womanship' matched his showmanship.[124] He often portrayed women through a deeply sensual and symbolic lens, frequently invoking themes of what he calls "sacred nudity" (muqaddas uriyan inUrdu), a concept he linked to early memories and which manifested in recurring bathing scenes and ethereal female imagery in his films, as he recounts:
I was extremely precocious. And I was a worshipper of nudity. I think it all started because of my intimacy with my mother who was young, beautiful, and had the sharp features of aPathan woman. We often bathed together, and seeing her in the nude must have left a deep erotic impression on my mind. There is an excellent Urdu phrase,muqaddas uriyan (sacred nudity), which describes this perfectly. In my films, bathing scenes recur often. Women in general occupy most of my early memories, and they appear in my films like ghosts that refuse to be buried.[125]
The 1967 "Song about Yogis" (Russian:Песенка про йогов) byVladimir Vysotsky mentions Raj Kapoor as one of the three best-known symbols of Indian culture in the Soviet Union, along withShiva andyoga.[127]
In 2022, he was placed inOutlook India's "75 Best Bollywood Actors" list.[128]
In June 2011, Noah Cowan, artistic director of TIFF Bell Lightbox, and Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft along with members of the Kapoor family came together to pay tribute to the life and work of Indian actor, director, mogul and legend Raj Kapoor, as presented in partnership by TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), and the Government of Ontario.[129] In 2011, it was announced that Kapoor will be inducted into theBrampton Walk of Fame in Ontario, Canada.[130]From December 13 to 15, 2024, a special screening of Raj Kapoor's most famous films were held in 40 cities and 135 theaters across India for his 100th Birthday Anniversary celebration.[131]
Mukesh was Raj Kapoor's almost exclusive singing voice in almost all of his films. Also, when Mukesh died, Raj had said,Main ne apni aawaaz ko kho diya... (I have lost my voice...). HoweverManna Dey has also sung many notable and super-hit songs for Raj Kapoor, for instance inShree 420 andChori Chori. Examples of such Manna songs are best illustrated by the following list:
^CHATTERJEE, PARTHA. “INDIAN CINEMA: Then and Now.”India International Centre Quarterly 39, no. 2 (2012): 46. "Thanks toK. A. Abbas, who adapted his radical idea to Raj Kapoor's Arya Samaji upbringing (...)"
^Reliving the Geetmala lore.S.K. Screen, Friday, 22 September 2000, transcript available online at"Ameen Sayani/Press Reviews". Archived fromthe original on 5 September 2005. Retrieved31 July 2006., accessed online on 29 July 2006
^Parmar, Prabhjot (5 August 2007)."Films and Partition: Trains of History".www.tribuneindia.com. The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum.Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved13 October 2016.
^Nanda, Ritu; Kapoor, Raj (2002).Raj Kapoor speaks. New Delhi: Viking.ISBN978-0-670-04952-3.Though Raj Kapoor had never seen Krishna before, she was related to him. She is the first cousin of Prithviraj.
^"Raj Kapoor Crescent".Asian Image. Lancashire UK. 9 June 2011. Retrieved19 June 2011.The city will also like to induct Shri Raj Kapoor into the Brampton Hall of Fame, having a star placed there in his honour..
Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1994).Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. London: British Film Institute; New Delhi: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-1-579-58146-6.
Kishore, Valicha (1988).The Moving Image: A study of Indian cinema. Hyderabad: Orient Longman.ISBN978-0-861-31681-6.
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