JOIN USHe was an actor, director, producer, editor, studio owner and a music composer, all rolled into one. In fact, if there’s one actor in the Hindi film industry who can stake a claim to many gifted talents, then it is Raj Kapoor.
This multifaceted film personality, however, started his career as an actor and entered the arena of direction only after establishing himself as an actor.
He also dabbled in production and gave the industry a number of hits that are popular even to this day. One of the most prominent members of the famous Kapoor family of Bollywood, he continues to be held in high esteem by filmmakers across the world.
This eldest son of veteran actor Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni Devi, was born as Ranbir Raj Kapoor on December 14, 1924, in Peshawar. He married Krishna Malhotra in 1946, when he was hardly 22 years old. The couple had four children — Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Reema Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor.
Raj Kapoor's journey into the world of films began as a clapper boy, assisting Kidar Sharma. He first faced the camera in 1935, when he was just 11 years old, in the movie Inquilab.
Though his appearances before the camera continued for 12 more years, none of them actually made it big in the box-office. However, it was in the year 1947 that Raj Kapoor really made it big in the movie Neel Kamal, which changed his fortune in the film industry for the better, and then there was no looking back. The very next year, he set up his own studio, R K Films.
R K Films made Kapoor the youngest film director of his time, as he was only 24 years old then. His debut movie, as a director and producer, was Aag, which hit the theatres in 1948. It was his first movie with Nargis, but failed to do well at the box-office.
Not the one to be discouraged by failure, the very next year, he again paired with Nargis in Mehboob Khan’s Andaz, which went on to become his first major success as an actor. Among the most notable films of his career are Barsaat (1949), Awaara (1951), Shree 420 (1955), Chori Chori (1956) and Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960).
In the year 1960, Raj Kapoor produced, directed and starred in Sangam, the first colour film of his career. This movie was also his last major success as an actor.
A couple of years later, he started making Mera Naam Joker, a film that took almost six years to complete. It was released in 1970, but failed miserably at the box- office. However, in the later years, the movie was regarded as one of the finest films ever made in Bollywood.
In 1971, he starred in Kal Aaj Aur Kal as a character actor, which also had Randhir Kapoor, Prithviraj Kapoor and Babita. He started focusing more on producing and directing films. Accordingly, in 1973, he produced and directed Bobby, through which he also launched his second son Rishi Kapoor.
The film was a huge success and served as the perfect launch pad for both Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia. The rest of 70s and early 80s saw him delivering many successful films like Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Prem Rog (1982) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985).
The last film of Raj Kapoor, in which he made an appearance, was Vakil Babu (1982). Two years later, he was seen in a cameo appearance in a British made-for-television film, Kim. In the later years of his life, Raj Kapoor suffered from asthma, which led to his sad demise in 1988.
During his last days, he was working on the movie Henna, based on a love story between an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl. His son Randhir Kapoor completed the movie and released it in 1991, which went on to become a huge hit.
Raj Kapoor was a great believer in team work. He had his own team of writers, Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri; his regular singers, Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar; and his favourite composers, Shankar-Jaikishen.
Raj Kapoor was generous to the extreme. A very giving and sharing person, his love for food was legendary. He introduced innumerable artistes and all of them were proud to be a part of RK’s stable. He is also a recipient of many awards and accolades, including the Padma Bhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He was the greatest entertainer known to Indian films. No wonder, he is best remembered as Bollywood’s original showman.