Prithviraj Kapoor | |
|---|---|
 Kapoor in the filmEk Raat (1942) | |
| Born | Prithvinath Kapoor (1906-11-03)November 3, 1906 |
| Died | 29 May 1972(1972-05-29) (aged 65) Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Education | Lyallpur Khalsa College, Lyallpur |
| Alma mater | Edwardes College Peshawar (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1927–1972 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6, includingRaj,Shammi andShashi |
| Relatives | seeKapoor family |
| Honours |
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| Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 3 April 1952 – 2 April 1960 | |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Succeeded by | Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay |
| Constituency | Nominated (Arts) |
Prithviraj Kapoor (bornPrithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures ofHindi cinema.[1] He was associated withIPTA as one of its founding members and established thePrithvi Theatres in 1944 as a travelling theatre company based inMumbai.
He was the patriarch of theKapoor family of Hindi films, four generations of which, beginning with him, have played active roles in the Hindi film industry, with the youngest generation still active in Bollywood. His father, Basheshwarnath Kapoor, also played a short role in his movieAwara. TheGovernment of India honoured him with thePadma Bhushan in 1969 and theDadasaheb Phalke Award in 1971 for his contributions towardsIndian cinema.[1]
Prithviraj Kapoor was born as Prithvinath Kapoor on 3 November 1906[2][3] inSamundri,[4]British India, into aPunjabi HinduKhatri family of theKapoorgotra.[5][3] His father,Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor, was a police officer in theIndian Imperial Police. His grandfather, Dewan Keshavmal Kapoor, and his great-grandfather, Dewan Murli Mal Kapoor, wereTehsildars inSamundri nearLyallpur.[6] Kapoor was the eldest of eight siblings, five boys (including Prithviraj andTrilok Kapoor, also an actor) and three girls. Film producerSurinder Kapoor, father of actors and producersAnil,Boney andSanjay Kapoor, was a cousin of Prithviraj Kapoor.[7]
Kapoor's childhood was largely spent inLyallpur District, where his grandparents and extended family lived. Later, his father was transferred toPeshawar, North West Frontier Province, and after some years, the family moved there, while retaining house and property inLyallpur. Kapoor studied initially atLyallpur Khalsa College then inLyallpur,[8] and later atEdwardes College inPeshawar, where he received hisBachelor of Arts.[9] He also went on to study law for a year before deciding to go into acting.
Kapoor began his acting career in the theatres ofLyallpur andPeshawar. In 1928, he moved toMumbai, with a loan from an aunt. There he joined the Imperial Films Company and started acting in minor roles in movies.[3][10] In 1929, he made his acting debut as an extra in his first film,Be Dhari Talwar.[11][10] He went on to earn a lead role in his third film, titledCinema Girl, which released in 1930.[12]
After featuring in nine silent films, includingBe Dhari Talwar,[13]Cinema Girl,Sher-e-Arab andPrince Vijaykumar,[14] Kapoor did a supporting role in India's first film talkie,Alam Ara (1931).[15] His performance inVidyapati (1937) was much appreciated. His best-known performance is perhaps asAlexander the Great inSohrab Modi'sSikandar (1941). He also joined the Grant Anderson Theater Company, an English theatrical company that remained in Mumbai for a year.[12][15] Through all these years, Kapoor remained devoted to the theatre and performed on stage regularly. He developed a reputation as a very fine and versatile actor on both stage and screen.
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By 1944, Kapoor had the wherewithal and standing to found his own theatre group, Prithvi Theatres, whose première performance wasKalidasa'sAbhijñānaśākuntalam in 1942. His eldest son,Raj Kapoor, by 1946, had struck out on his own; the films he produced had been successful and this was also an enabling factor. Prithviraj invested in Prithvi Theatres, which staged memorable productions across India. The plays were highly influential and inspired young people to participate in theIndian independence movement and theQuit India Movement.[10] In over 16 years of existence, the theatre staged some 2,662 performances. Prithviraj starred as the lead actor inevery single show.[citation needed] One of his popular plays was calledPathan (1947), which was performed on stage nearly 600 times in Mumbai. It opened on 13 April 1947, and is a story of a Muslim and his Hindu friend.[16]
By the late 1950s, it was clear that the era of the travelling theatre had been irreversibly supplanted by the cinema and it was no longer financially feasible for a troupe of up to 80 people to travel the country for four to six months at a time along with their props and equipment and living in hotels and campsites. The financial returns, through ticket sales and the rapidly diminishinglargesse of patrons from the erstwhile princely class of India, was not enough to support such an effort. Many of the fine actors and technicians that Prithvi Theatres nurtured had found their way to the movies. Indeed, this was the case with all of Prithviraj's own sons. As Kapoor progressed into his 50s, he gradually ceased theatre activities and accepted occasional offers from film-makers, including his own sons. He appeared with his son Raj in the 1951 filmAwara as a stern judge who had thrown his own wife out of his house. Later, under his son,Shashi Kapoor, and daughter-in-lawJennifer Kendal, Prithvi Theatre merged with the IndianShakespeare theatre company, "Shakespeareana", and the company got a permanent home, with the inauguration of the Prithvi Theatre inMumbai on 5 November 1978.[17]
| Prithviraj Kapoor | |
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| Type | Commemorative Stamps |
| Country of issue | India |
| Date of issue | 03/05/2013 |
| Commemorates | celebrating 100 Years of Indian Cinema |
| Face value | INR 5.00 |
In 1996, the Golden Jubilee year of the founding of Prithvi Theatre,India Post, issued a special two Rupee commemorative postage stamp.[18] It featured the logo of the theatre, the dates 1945–1995, and an image of Kapoor.[19] The first day cover, (stamped 15-1-95), showed an illustration of a performance of a travelling theatre in progress, on a stage that seems fit for a travelling theatre, as Prithvi theatre was for sixteen years, until 1960.[17] On the occasion of 100 years of the Indian cinema, another postage stamp, bearing his likeness, was released by India Post on 3 May 2013.
His filmography of this period includesMughal-e-Azam (1960), where he gave his most memorable performance as theMughal emperorAkbar, which earned him a nomination for theFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor,Harishchandra Taramati (1963) in which he played the lead role, an unforgettable performance asPorus inSikandar-e-Azam (1965), and the stentorian grandfather inKal Aaj Aur Kal (1971), in which he appeared with his sonRaj Kapoor and grandsonRandhir Kapoor.[10]
Kapoor starred in the legendary religiousPunjabi filmNanak Nam Jahaz Hai (1969), a film so revered inPunjab that there were lines many kilometres long to purchase tickets.[citation needed]
He also starred in the Punjabi filmsNanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar (1970) andMele Mittran De (1972).
He also acted in theKannada filmSakshatkara (1971), directed by Kannada directorPuttanna Kanagal. He acted asDr. Rajkumar's father in the film.
In 1954, he was awarded theSangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, and in 1969, thePadma Bhushan by theGovernment of India. He remainedNominated Rajya Sabha Member for eight years.[14]
He was posthumously awarded theDadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 1971. He was the third recipient of that award, the highest accolade inIndian cinema.
He was also inducted into theBollywood Walk of Fame atBandra Bandstand, where his autograph was preserved.[20]
Kapoor was aged 17 when he was married to the 15-year-old Ramsarni Mehra, a girl of his own community and similar background, in amatch arranged by their parents. The marriage was harmonious and conventional and lasted all their lives. In fact, the wedding had been held even earlier, a few years prior to this, and it was thegauna ceremony (farewell) which was celebrated when Ramsarni reached the age of 15 and became old enough to leave her parents and reside with her husband and in-laws. Ramsarni's brother, Jugal Kishore Mehra, would later enter films.[citation needed]
The couple's eldest child,Raj Kapoor, was born the following year inPeshawar, North West Frontier Province, on 14 December 1924; making Prithviraj a father at age 18. By the time Prithviraj moved toMumbai in 1927, the couple were the parents of three children. In 1930, Ramsarni joined Prithviraj in Mumbai. The following year, while she was pregnant for the fourth time, two of their sons died in the space of one terrible week. One of their children, Devinder (called Devi), died of double-pneumonia, while the other child, Ravinder (called Binder or Bindie), died of poisoning in a freak incident when he swallowed rat-poison pills strewn in the garden.[22]
The couple went on to have three more children: sonsShamsher Raj (Shammi) andBalbir Raj (Shashi) (who were to become famous actors and filmmakers in their own right), and daughter, Urmila Sial.[citation needed]
After his retirement, Prithviraj settled in a cottage called Prithvi Jhonpra nearJuhu Beach, West Mumbai. The property was on lease, which was bought by Shashi Kapoor, and later converted into a small, experimental theatre, the Prithvi Theatre. Both Prithviraj and Ramsarni had cancer and died 16 days apart. Prithviraj died on 29 May 1972 and Ramsarni died on 14 June 1972.[23]
ASamadhi (memorial) of Raj Kapoor at their family farm"Rajbaugh", which means the"garden of kings", also houses Privthiraj Kapoor and his wife's memorial. Rajbaugh lies on the banks ofMula-Mutha River inLoni Kalbhor village 30 km east ofPune in Maharashtra.Kapoor family sold part of 125 acres Rajbaugh toMIT World Peace University (MIT WPU) which built and houses thememorial for the Kapoor family on its campus. It has 7 pagodas and a viewing gallery which displays the Kapoor family photographs. Raj Kapoor shot many of his films at this farm, includingSatyam Shivam Sundaram,Mera Naam Joker,Bobby, andPrem Rog among others. Kapoor's familybungalow inside the farm has been preserved; the popular song"Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Ho" was shot inside this bungalow.[24][25][26][27][28] He shared a great friendship with the Hindi Literature stalwartHarivansh Rai Bachchan.
Prithviraj Kapoor represented the mental make-up of Pathans of North-West Frontier Province through another play calledPathan.
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