Shekhar Kapur | |
|---|---|
 Kapur in 2025 | |
| Born | Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (1945-12-06)6 December 1945 (age 79) |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives |
|
| Family | Anand-Sahni family |
| Honours |
|
| Chairman ofFilm and Television Institute of India | |
| In office 30 September 2020 – 1 September 2023 | |
| Preceded by | B. P. Singh |
| Succeeded by | R. Madhavan |
Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is anIndian filmmaker.[1] Born into theAnand-Sahni family, Kapur is the recipient of several accolades, including aBAFTA Award, aNational Film Award, aNational Board of Review Award and threeFilmfare Awards, in addition to nomination for aGolden Globe Award.
Kapur became known inBollywood with his recurring role in the television seriesKhandaan. He then made his directorial debut withcult classicMasoom in 1983, before gaining widespread acclaim withMr. India in 1987. He then gained international recognition and acclaim in 1994 withbiographical filmBandit Queen, based on the infamousIndian bandit and politicianPhoolan Devi. The film premiered in the directors' fortnight section of the1994 Cannes Film Festival and was screened at theEdinburgh Film Festival.[2][3]
Kapur achieved further international prominence with the 1998 period filmElizabeth, a fictionalized account of the reign ofBritish Queen Elizabeth I, which was nominated for sevenAcademy Awards. He then directedwardrama filmThe Four Feathers (2002). In 2007, he directedElizabeth: The Golden Age, the sequel to his 1998 film.
Shekhar Kapur was awardedPadma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2025.[4]
Shekhar was born on 6 December 1945 inLahore,Punjab,British India, in aPunjabi Hindu family to Kulbhushan Kapoor, a doctor with a flourishing practice, and his wife Sheel Kanta Kapoor.[1]
Whilst travelling on a train from the newly-created Pakistan to India, a massacre took place; Kapur's mother Sheel played dead and hid both him and his sister under her body.[5] Reflecting on this, Kapur stated that thepartition of India happened through "the blood of one people".[5]
The nephew of famous Indian actorDev Anand (Kapur's mother Sheel Kanta was the sister of actorsChetan, Dev andVijay Anand[6]), he was discouraged from getting into films by his father.[7] Kapur is the only son of his parents and he has three sisters. One of his sisters, Neelu, was the first wife of actorNavin Nischol, while another sister, Aruna, is the wife of actorParikshit Sahni. His third and youngest sister isSohaila Kapur.
Kapur attendedModern School ofNew Delhi.[8] He studied economics atSt. Stephen's College. At 22, he became aChartered Accountant with theICAEW in England, having studied accountancy at the behest of his parents.[9][10] He then started his career working with a multinational oil company. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1970, and spent several years working as an accountant andmanagement consultant.[11]
He turned director with the family dramaMasoom (1983), starringNaseeruddin Shah,Shabana Azmi and a youngJugal Hansraj andUrmila Matondkar. The plot followed the story of an illegitimate boy who struggles to find acceptance from his stepmother. He then directed the 1987 science-fiction filmMr. India, starringAnil Kapoor,Sridevi andAmrish Puri in his most famous role as the villain Mogambo. Puri's most famous dialogue in this film "Mogambo Khush Hua" is still remembered.[12] In 1994 he directed the critically acclaimedBandit Queen[13] and played a cameo in the film as a truck driver.
Kapur was infamous for abandoning several films in which he was originally the director.[14] He was originally the director of the 1989 filmJoshilaay, which starredSunny Deol,Anil Kapoor,Sridevi andMeenakshi Sheshadri before leaving the production halfway, and its producer Sibti Hassan Rizvi stepped in to complete the film. In 1992, he had shot some scenes forBarsaat, which was originally titledChampion[15] and was going to be the debut film ofBobby Deol, but he left the production and was replaced byRajkumar Santoshi. In 1995, he partly directedDushmani, starringSunny Deol,Jackie Shroff andManisha Koirala before its producer Bunty Soorma stepped in to complete the film.[16]
Kapur was the executive producer of the filmThe Guru. He established an Indian film company withRam Gopal Verma and Mani Ratnam, though the group has thus far produced only one film,Dil Se.. (1998), starringShahrukh Khan andManisha Koirala. Kapur executive-produced theBollywood-themedmusicalBombay Dreams byAndrew Lloyd Webber, which ran in London'sthe West End and onBroadway in New York City for 1 year.
In 2016, Kapur delivers an autobiographical film and documentary aboutAmma, well known asMata Amritanandamayi Devi, called "The Science of Compassion".[17]
In 1998, he received international recognition for the second time afterBandit Queen, when he directed theAcademy Award-winning period filmElizabeth, a fictional account of the reign ofBritish Queen Elizabeth I nominated for sevenOscars. The 2007 sequel,Elizabeth: The Golden Age, was nominated for twoOscars. He was accused of being anti-British byBritish tabloids for his inaccurate portrayal of theBritish Army in the 2002 movieThe Four Feathers. He denied the accusations and stated that he was merely "anti-colonisation".[18]
Kapur started his career as an actor in the movieJaan Hazir Hai (1975)[19] starringPrem Kishen andTrilok Kapoor and later inToote Khilone, inBollywood. He appeared in several Hindi television dramas, such asUdaan (Doordarshan), oppositeKavita Chaudhary,Upanyaas[20] (Doordarshan) opposite Nisha Singh, andMasoom opposite Neena Gupta.
He served as judge on the reality TV seriesIndia's Got Talent, aired onColors.
In an unusual role for him, Kapur provided the voice ofMohandas Gandhi in theCharkha Audiobooks title ofThe Story of My Experiments with Truth, alongsideNandita Das as narrator.[citation needed]
In 2013, Kapur hosted the TV showPradhanmantri onABP News. On the show, which aims to bring never-seen-before facets of Indian history, he was the narrator.[21]
In 2006, Kapur formedLiquid Comics and Virgin Animation, an entertainment company focused on creating new stories and characters for a global audience. TheShakti titles of Kapur andDeepak Chopra's company debuted withDevi andThe Sadhu.[22]Devi is about "a fierce feminine warrior, stronger than the Gods themselves ... a champion of the heavens, and the protector of man", whileThe Sadhu "is about one man's choice between his spiritual oath and his human instinct."[22]
Kapur had a relationship for seven years with actressShabana Azmi.[23] He first was married to Medha Gujral, niece of former Indian Prime MinisterInder Kumar Gujral.[24] They divorced in 1994.[25] She died on 25 November 2014 at a hospital in New York City of liver failure following a second heart and first kidney transplant.[26] Kapur later married actressSuchitra Krishnamoorthi in 1999.[27] They have a daughter named Kaveri Kapur.[28] The couple divorced in 2007.
In March 2020, Krishnamoorthi filed a case against Kapur over a property dispute concerning their daughter Kaveri.[29] She claimed that the property rightfully belongs to their daughter, but has been rented to actorKabir Bedi and his wife Parveen.[30]
| Year | Title | Distributor |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Masoom | Bombino Video Pvt. Ltd. |
| 1987 | Mr. India | Sujata Films |
| 1994 | Bandit Queen | Kaleidoscope Entertainment/Content Flow Studios |
| 1998 | Elizabeth | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment |
| 2002 | The Four Feathers | Paramount Pictures /Buena Vista International |
| 2007 | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Universal Pictures |
| 2022 | What's Love Got to Do with It? | StudioCanal UK |
In 2000, he receivedPadma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India.[31] In 2010, he served as one of the Jury Members in international competition at the63rd Cannes Film Festival.[3][32] In 2020, Kapur became the president of theFilm and Television Institute of India.[33]
In 2023, Kapur served as the chairperson of the International competition Jury at the54th International Film Festival of India held from 20 November to 28 November.[34]
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAFTA Awards | 1999 | Best Direction | Elizabeth | Nominated | [35] |
| Outstanding British Film | Won | ||||
| David di Donatello Awards | 2008 | Best European Film | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Nominated | [36] |
| Filmfare Awards | 1984 | Best Film - Critics | Masoom | Won | [37] |
| Best Director | Nominated | ||||
| 1995 | Best Film - Critics | Bandit Queen | Won | [38] | |
| 1997 | Best Director | Bandit Queen | Won | [39] | |
| 1999 | Special Award | — | Won | [40] | |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1999 | Best Director – Motion Picture | Elizabeth | Nominated | [41] |
| Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | 2008 | Best European Director | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Nominated | [42] |
| National Board of Review Awards | 1998 | Best Director | Elizabeth | Won | [43] |
| National Film Awards | 1996 | Best Feature Film - Hindi | Bandit Queen | Won | [44] |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | 1994 | Best Film | Bandit Queen | Nominated | [45] |
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