Randhir Kapoor | |
|---|---|
 Randhir Kapoor in 2021 | |
| Born | Randhir Raj Kapoor (1947-02-15)15 February 1947 (age 78)[1] |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1955–2014 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Father | Raj Kapoor |
| Family | Kapoor family |
Randhir Kapoor (born 15 February 1947) is an Indian retired actor, film producer and director who worked inHindi cinema.
Part of theKapoor family, he is the son of actor–filmmakerRaj, grandson of actorPrithviraj and the brother of actorsRishi Kapoor andRajiv Kapoor. After working as a child artist inShree 420 (1955), Kapoor made his acting and direction debut with a leading role in the family dramaKal Aaj Aur Kal (1971), a moderate success at the box office. Subsequently, Kapoor's starring roles in the dramasJeet (1972),Hamrahi (1974) and the romantic comediesJawani Diwani (1972),Lafange (1975),Ponga Pandit (1975) and the multi-starrers such asRaampur Ka Lakshman (1972) andHaath Ki Safai (1974). His career failed to propel forward after 1985, following which he quit acting for over a decade. However, the Kapoor-directed successful romantic dramaHenna in 1991, earned him aFilmfare Award for Best Director nomination.
Randhir is married to actressBabita since 1971, with whom he has two daughters, actressesKarisma andKareena Kapoor. The couple separated in 1988, but reconciled in 2007, after living separately for several years.
Kapoor was born on 15 February 1947 in Karunakaran Maternity home, Matunga,Bombay,Bombay Presidency, India (now known asMumbai,Maharashtra) toPunjabi Hindu parents. His family moved from theirKapoor Haveli inPeshawar (now inPakistan) to Mumbai, before thepartition of India, for acting careers. His family originally belonged toSamundri in present-dayPunjab, Pakistan. He belongs to the famousKapoor family who have been part of the Hindi film industry since the late 1920s.[2][3] He is the eldest son of actor and filmmakerRaj Kapoor and his wife Krishna Kapoor. He has two brothersRajiv andRishi, and two sisters, Rima Jain and Ritu Nanda. He is one of the grandsons of actor and producerPrithviraj Kapoor, and grandnephew of the actorTrilok Kapoor. His paternal uncles,Shammi andShashi Kapoor were both actors. Also, his maternal uncles,Prem Nath,Rajendra Nath andNarendra Nath and were all involved in Hindi cinema. ActorsPrem Krishen and Kailash Nath, are his maternal cousins, while actorsAditya,Karan,Sanjana andKunal are his paternal cousins. ActorPrem Chopra is his uncle-by-marriage (Krishna's sister Uma's husband). ActorsAnil Kapoor andSanjay Kapoor are his cousins once removed. His nephews include actorsRanbir Kapoor, Aadar Jain and Armaan Jain, and businessmanNikhil Nanda.
Kapoor first appeared as a child artist inShree 420 (1955) andDo Ustad (1959). He became an assistant director with the filmJhuk Gaya Aasman (1968), starringRajendra Kumar in 1968. Randhir Kapoor made his acting and directorial debut withKal Aaj Aur Kal (1971), which also starred his wife, father, and grandfather. The film, produced under the R.K banner, was an average success.[4]
After his debut, he acted in three consecutive hit films, all released in 1972:Jeet,Raampur Ka Lakshman andJawani Diwani.[5]Jawani Diwani was one of the biggest hits of that year.Raampur Ka Lakshman[5] costarredShatrughan Sinha andRekha, and was directed byManmohan Desai, with music byR.D. Burman. Randhir and Babita were paired together inJeet, after their marriage.Jeet was remake of the Tamil filmEn Annan starringM. G. Ramachandran andJayalalithaa in the lead roles. After the success ofJeet, Randhir decided to do a remake of another film of MGR. Then MGR's hit 1971 filmRickshawkaran was remade in Hindi in 1973 asRickshawala with Randhir as the hero opposite the new heroineNeetu Singh, by director K. Shankar, but the film flopped though its music was popular. In 1974 he had 2 big hits –Hamrahi and the two-hero filmHaath Ki Safai.
In 1975, he directed and starred alongside his father again in the critically acclaimedDharam Karam, which was a box office disappointment. Over the years this film has developed a cult status and is considered a classic. Two of his other films,Lafange andPonga Pandit, were hits that year. From 1976 to 1981, his multi-star films such asChacha Bhatija (1977),Kasme Vaade (1978), (the latter of which earned him aFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination),Mama Bhanja,Heeralal Pannalal,Dhyanu Bhagat also known asBhakti Mein Shakti andBiwi-O-Biwi: The Fun-Film, were hits too. After the failure of the 1981Harjaee, he got few offers to star or co-star in films. His filmNikkamma, begun in 1976, and finally released in 1983 asJanejaan, was also a dud. The song composed byR.D. Burman, and sung byKishore Kumar andAsha Bhosle – "Tere Bina Mein Kuch Bhi Nahin Hoon" from the delayed filmJanejaan was popular in 1983. He starred inSawaal andPukar in 1983, and received critical praise for his performances, but they flopped nonetheless. In the same year,Humse Na Jeeta Koi received average collections. His last film as a leading actor wasKhazana in 1987, after which he did not appear in a film for a decade.
In 1991, he directed and produced the blockbusterHenna (1991), that starred his younger brother, Rishi Kapoor, and Pakistani actressZeba Bakhtiar. The film had started production in 1988 with his father Raj Kapoor directing, but after his death, Randhir took over as director of the film after his death.Henna resulted in a trip toPakistan, where he was treated royally by then-prime ministerNawaz Sharif, a fan of his father Raj and his uncles Shammi and Shashi. He was nominated for theFilmfare Award for Best Director. The film was chosen as theIndian submissions for the Academy Award. In 1996, he producedPremGranth, the directorial debut of his younger brother Rajiv, and in 1999 he producedAa Ab Laut Chalen, the directorial debut of his brother Rishi, which hadRajesh Khanna,Aishwarya Rai andAkshaye Khanna in the lead roles.
He was set to return to acting after a gap of 10 years with the 1997 filmLadies Only. This film was produced by Kamal Hasan and was a remake of Magalir Mattum. The film also starredShilpa Shirodkar,Seema Biswas,Heera Rajagopal andKamal Haasan. Although completed, the film was never released.[6] In 1999, he made his comeback in the filmMother, alongsideRekha,Jeetendra andRakesh Roshan. After another break, he appeared in the filmArmaan (2003), in a supporting role asPreity Zinta's father. On 13 May 2007, he made an appearance on the television chat showKoffee with Karan alongside his brothers, sister Rima and his sister-in-lawNeetu Singh. On the show, it was mentioned how Randhir had been Neetu's first leading man in the filmRickshawala (1973), which was not a success.
In 2010, he returned to films with supporting roles inHousefull andAction Replayy. In 2012, he appeared in the multi-starrerHousefull 2, the first film in which he acted along with his brother Rishi. He went onto appear inRamaiya Vastavaiya in 2013 andSuper Nani in 2014.
Kapoor married actressBabita, the daughter of actorHari Shivdasani, on 6 November 1971 when he was 24 after co-starring with her inKal Aaj Aur Kal, as the couple fell in love during the shooting of this film.[7][8] Their two daughters,Karisma Kapoor, born in June 1974, andKareena Kapoor Khan, born in September 1980, are Indian film actresses. The couple separated in 1988 as differences arose between the couple as Randhir's acting career slumped after 1983 and Babita wanted their daughter Karisma to be an actress. Babita left Randhir with her daughters. Although against his daughters becoming involved in acting, he eventually came around the idea and has been supportive of their careers. The two reconciled in October 2007, having never divorced but lived separately for 19 years.[9] ActorSaif Ali Khan is his son-in-law.
In March 2022, Kapoor's nephewRanbir Kapoor revealed that the former hasdementia.[10]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Shree 420 | Himself | Child Artist |
| 1971 | Kal Aaj Aur Kal | Rajesh Kapoor | Debut Film Role |
| 1972 | Jawani Diwani | Vijay Anand | |
| Raampur Ka Lakshman | Lakshman Bhargav | ||
| Jeet | Ratan / Ramu | ||
| 1973 | Rickshawala | Gopi | |
| 1974 | Hamrahi | Ramesh | |
| Haath Ki Safai | Raju Tardev | ||
| Dil Diwana | Vijay | ||
| 1975 | Ponga Pandit | Bhagwat Prasad Pandey / Prem | |
| Lafange | Gopal | ||
| Dafaa 302 | N/A | ||
| Dharam Karam | Dharam | ||
| 1976 | Khalifa | Rajendra / Vinod | Double Role |
| Ginny Aur Johnny | Dabbu | ||
| Aaj Ka Mahaatma | Randhir / Ranveer | Double Role | |
| Bhanwar | Anup / Balveer Singh | ||
| Mazdoor Zindabaad | N/A | ||
| 1977 | Chacha Bhatija | Sundar Teja | |
| Mama Bhanja | Mohan Lal | ||
| 1978 | Kasme Vaade | Ravi Verma | |
| Heeralaal Pannalaal | Pannalaal | ||
| Chor Ke Ghar Chor | Birju | ||
| Bhakti Mein Shakti | N/A | ||
| Aakhri Daku | Bhola | ||
| 1979 | Bhala Manus | Anand | |
| Dhongee | Anand / Mr. Champaklal | ||
| 1981 | Biwi-O-Biwi | Chandramohan "Chandar" | |
| Harjaee | Ajay | ||
| Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai | Ramesh Nanda | Cameo | |
| 1982 | Sawaal | Vikram Mehta "Vicky" | |
| 1983 | Humse Na Jeeta Koi | Kishan Singh | |
| Jaane Jaan | Raju | ||
| Pukar | Shekhar | ||
| 1987 | Khazana | Romela | |
| 1999 | Mother | Kumar Sinha | |
| 2003 | Armaan | Gulshan Kapoor | |
| 2010 | Housefull | Kishore Samtani | |
| Action Replayy | Professor Anthony Gonsalves | ||
| 2012 | Housefull 2 | Dabboo Kapoor | |
| 2013 | Ramaiya Vastavaiya | Siddhant Kapoor | |
| 2014 | Super Nani | R.K. Bhatia | Final film role |
Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985)
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| Artists | |
