Raj Kapoor

BIOGRAPHY :

Raj Kapoor (December 14, 1924 - June 2, 1988) was a legendary Indian actor, producer and director of Bollywood movies. He is part of the famous Kapoor family and is the son of Prithviraj Kapoor, and Rama Kapoor, grandson of Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor, great-grandson of Dewan Keshavmal Kapoor.

The Kapoor family hailed from what is now Faisalabad (then called Lyallpur) in the Punjab province of present-day Pakistan.He was named Ranbirraj Kapoor at birth, and was the eldest of the four children of renowned stage and cinema actor Prithviraj Kapoor and his wife Smt. Ramsarni (Rama) Devi nee Mehra. His younger brothers were the actors Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor. He also had a sister by name Urmila Sial.Raj Kapoor failed his matriculation examination.

In 1946, at the age of twenty-two, Raj Kapoor was wed to Krishna Malhotra belonging to Jabalpur in a traditional family-arranged wedding. Her brothers Premnath as well as Rajindernath were also actors.

Raj Kapoor and Krishna's eldest son Randhir Kapoor was born the following year, followed by their elder daughter Ritu the year after, in 1948. The second son Rishi Kapoor was born in 1952, and second daughter Reema in 1956. Their youngest son, Rajiv Kapoor was born in 1962.
Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor have all been associated with the Hindi film industry as actors, directors or producers.Noted film personalities Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor are the granddaughters of Raj and Krishna Kapoor, being the daughters of their eldest son Randhir Kapoor by his wife Babita.

Ruddy-cheeked and light-eyed, Raj Kapoor was unmistakably Destiny's blue-eyed boy. Raj Kapoor began his career as a clapper boy assisting Kidar Sharma. At age eleven, he appeared in films for the first time, in the 1935 film "Inquilab". Raj Kapoor's big break, however, came when he played the hero's role in "Neel Kamal" (1947) by Kidar Sharma opposite Madhubala.

In 1948, at the age of twenty-four,This boy wonder started multi-tasking and established his own studio, R. K. Films, and became the youngest film director of his time. He produced, directed and acted in "Aag" (1948).He had the unique ability to marshal talents like writer K A Abbas, lyricists Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri, music maestros Shanker-Jaikishan, singer Mukesh and numerous actors and make them work at their optimum.. His first movie as a producer, director and star was "Aag" which was also the first of his many films with Nargis.

As a romantic actor, his onscreen romance with Nargis, fuelled by larger-than-life stories of their off-screen relationship, was a glorious chapter in the cinematic history of Hindi cinema.Raj Kapoor is known to have had a longtime romantic relationship with Nargis Dutt during the 1950s. The couple starred in several films together, including "Awaara" and "Shri 420".Nargis and he worked together in 16 films including 6 of his own productions.
But the roles Kapoor played best were those of a messiah of social change and of the impassioned advocate of universal love.

In 1949 he once again starred with Nargis alongside Dilip Kumar in Mehboob Khan's classic blockbuster "Andaz" which was his first major success as an actor.Raj Kapoor first showed his scene-stealing abilities in "Andaz" (1949), where he played Nargis's flamboyant but suspicious husband with aplomb.

He went on to produce, direct and star in many box office hits such as "Barsaat" (1949), "Awaara" (1951), "Shree 420" (1955)," Chori Chori "(1956), "Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai" (1960) and "Sangam" (1964).

Flamboyance was his forte in other early successes like "Dastaan" and "Sargam" as well.Kapoor was only 25 when his directorial venture "Barsaat" won him recognition as one who enjoyed a direct connection with the masses. Moreover, the self-obsessive pain of "Aag" paved the way for a more universal empathy evidenced in the way he captured mountain maid Nimmi's anguish in "Barsaat".

The actor-director enjoyed rare creative control of his image and his work. His next venture "Awaara" (1951) was a fascinating and psychologically adept look at a man caught in the centre of a nature-versus-nurture debate.
His knack for romance is revealed in the famous sequence where an angry Kapoor slaps Nargis after she calls him awaara. He is angry at her for being so attractive and assured, at himself for not quite being able to come to terms with his feelings of inadequacy prompted by his dubious background, at his libido for wanting her and at his ego for living in constant dread of a probable rejection.Awaara, when released in Russia as Brodigaya, achieved unprecedented success and the song Awaara hoon became a Russian favourite.

Kapoor's RK banner flew high with "Shri 420" (1955), the story of a hobo (Kapoor) caught between material aspirations (as represented by the sharp Nadira) and the higher self (as represented by schoolteacher Nargis). The tramp of "Shri 420", who doffed his battered bowler hat to Chaplin, touched a universal nerve.The popularity of this tramp with a golden heart grew to gargantuan dimensions after Kapoor portrayed almost saintly extensions in "Anadi" (1959) and "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai" (1960); and, later, in "Deewana" (1967), "Sapnon Ka Saudagar" (1968) and "Mera Naam Joker"(1970).

Kapoor's Sangam (1964) saw a love triangle centering around a man (Kapoor), his wife (Vyjayanthimala) and their best friend (Rajendra Kumar). His ability to see and empathise with each character's emotional viewpoint spoke volumes about his sensitivity as a director. Sangam's thunderous success triggered off a vogue for foreign locales (Love In Tokyo, An Evening In Paris) in Hindi films.

After Sangam, a now-rotund and 40-plus Kapoor looked lacklustre in films like Around The World opposite much younger heroines like Rajshri and Hema Malini. But the actor was too obsessed with his pet project, Mera Naam Joker to realise he should be eating and drinking less.

In the 1970 his ambitious project "Mera Naam Joker" was released, which took more than six years to complete and was a box office failure putting him into a financial crisis. Despite this setback, the film was much later acknowledged as a misunderstood classic and Raj himself regarded this film as his favourite.

Any other man would have lost heart after such a debacle, but not Kapoor.He later bounced back when he produced and co-starred with his eldest son Randhir Kapoor in Randhir's acting and directorial debut "Kal Aaj Aur Kal" (1971) which was an average success at the box office. "Kal Aaj Aur Kal" was also notable for the last film appearance of Raj's father Prithviraj Kapoor.

Despite creditors beating at his door due to his financial crisis post "Mera Naam Joker", he refused to keep the lid on production expenses and defiantly made "Bobby" (1973) with two newcomers, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia.
Raj Kapoor launched the career of his second son Rishi Kapoor with this movie along side Dimple Kapadiya." Bobby" was not only a huge box office success but also introduced actress Dimple Kapadia, later a very popular actress, and was the first of a new generation of teen romances. Dimple wore bikinis in the film which was quite unique for Indian films then.
Even if one is not predisposed towards young love stories, one enjoys Bobby for the sheer beauty of its visuals, the exuberance of youth and Kapoor's ability to transcend the generation gap when communicating to his audience.

In the latter half of the 1970s and early 1980s Raj acted in fewer films and focused more on producing and directing films which focused on the female protognists in "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" (1978), "Prem Rog" (1982) and "Ram Teri Ganga Maili"(1985) all of which did well at the box office.

Bobby's stellar success was not duplicated by Kapoor's next, Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978). Kapoor valiantly attempted to recycle Aag and convince us that, in love, a beautiful soul is of paramount importance. But his camera's predilection for heroine Zeenat Aman's curves told another story.

Raj Kapoor's sensitivity towards his female protagonists found more favour in "Prem Rog" (1982), a film about widow remarriage, and "Ram Teri Ganga Maili" (1985), where he employed a woman as a metaphor for a once pure, but now defiled, country.At 60, he had lost none of his ability to push the audience's emotional throttle."Ram Teri Ganga Maili" revived the career of his youngest son Rajeev Kapoor for a short phase.

He gave Bollywood several great actors like Nimmi, Dimple Kapadia, and Mandakini, as well as launching and reviving the careers of his sons Rishi and Rajiv.

Raj Kapoor is appreciated both by film critics and ordinary film fans. Film historians and movie buffs speak of him as the "Charlie Chaplin of Indian cinema," since he often portrayed a tramp-like figure, who, despite adversity, was still cheerful and honest. His fame spread world-wide. He was adored by audiences in large parts of Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, China, and Southeast Asia; his movies were global commercial successes.

Many of Raj Kapoor's movies had a patriotic theme. His films "Aag", "Shri 420" and "Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai" celebrated the newly independent India, and encouraged film-goers to be patriots.

The song " Mera Joota Hain Japani" from the movie "Shri 420" is still extremely popular and has been featured in a number of movies since Shri 420. Indian author Mahasweta Devi stopped the show with her inaugural speech at the 2006 Frankfurt Book Fair when she used these lyrics to express her own heartfelt patriotism and debt to her country.

Raj Kapoor was a canny judge of filmi music and lyrics. Many of the songs he commissioned are evergreen hits. Mukesh was Raj Kapoor's singing voice in almost all of his films.

He introduced the music directors Shankar-Jaikishan and the lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri. Shankar Jaikishan were his music director of choice. He worked with them in 20 films in all including 10 of his own films from Barsaat till Kal Aaj Aur Kal.
One of the featured players on the records was Faizullah Abdul Rahim Taghioff who played mandolin in such hit movies as Barsaat, Awara, Aan, Aag. (Jagte Raho with Salil Choudhury and Ab Dilli Dur Nahin being two exceptions in this period). Only with Bobby did he turn to Laxmikant Pyarelal.
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.

Raj Kapoor's last film appearance was in "Vakil Babu" (1982). His last ever acting role was a minor role in a 1984 British made-for-television film tited "Kim".

Raj Kapoor suffered from asthma in his later years; he died of complications related to asthma in 1988 at sixty-three years of age.

At the time of his death he was working on the movie Henna (an Indo-Pakistani love story). The script of Henna was ready but Kapoor was not there to direct it. In keeping with the theme of his life (as articulated emphatically in Mera Naam Joker) -- the show must go on -- his eldest son Randhir directed Heena for the RK banner.The film was a spectacular success.The showman could not have asked for a better tribute.

HIS MOVIE WITH SUPER STAR RAJESH KHANNA :

Naukri - 1978