Raj Kapoor@100

The baby born in Peshawar on December 14, 1924, to Prithviraj and Ramsarni Kapoor was very briefly given the name of Shrishti Nath. Thankfully someone had a look at the fair, blue-eyed boy and rightly decided that this staid name did not suit him. He was renamed Ranbir Raj, which he further shortened to Raj and that’s how the world knows him…Raj Kapoor, actor, producer, director, Showman.

Prithviraj Kapoor had established himself as a major film actor when Raj was growing up but because his father– affectionately called Papaji by everyone– was not a typical Bollywood star, Raj and his siblings did not have a silver spoon upbringing. They lived in a home that was like an open house for people. Papaji helped anyone who asked, and often emptied out his pockets before he was even out of his gate. 

Almost everybody from the extended family ended up in show business, as a result of which the Kapoor clan is the biggest dynasty in the world, with hundreds connected to the patriarch by blood or marriage. 

In the firm belief that social ills afflicting the country could be addressed better theatre than films, Papaji established his touring company,  Prithvi Theatres and travelled all over with them by trains and buses, performing in school halls and any venue that could accommodate their show and lodging. As a child Raj Kapoor learnt how not to be starry, because Papaji ate the same food as the rest and slept on the floor if need be. The family was not given preferential treatment. Raj Kapoor helped backstage, did odd jobs, did small parts, understudied for other actors, doubled as stage manager, and got as thorough a training in various aspects of production as was possible in a hands-on manner. He learnt about sets, lights, costumes, music, choreography, which came in handy when he started making his own films soon after his acting debut. A couple of years later, in 1950,  he founded RK Studio in Chembur, in the Eastern part of Mumbai.

Later in life, even when he was a superstar, he remained down to earth. He went to small eateries around Chembur and had his favourite watering holes. But he also entertained lavishly and the RK Holi bash became a Bollywood ritual.

Papaji did not believe in nepotism, so Raj Kapoor and his brothers had to find their 

own way in the industry– daughters were not permitted to get into films. Later, the daughters-in-law, Babita and Neetu Singh had to give up their acting careers too.

Raj Kapoor started out as an assistant with Kidar Sharma, who famously slapped him when he goofed up while giving a clap for a shot. But later, he also cast him as leading man in Neel Kamal, opposite Madhubala, making her transition from child artiste to leading lady.

He got married early, to Krishna Malhotra, sister of Premnath, co-actor and friend. In those days early marriages did not affect a star’s fan following; and though they may have been affairs, marriages were for keeps. Through all the real or alleged link-up, she maintained a stoic dignity, raising her five children.

The major storm in the Kapoor marriage came in the form of Nargis, who became Raj Kapoor’s muse and partner for over a decade. But he never left his family, and she could not wait. After Mother India, she married Sunil Dutt and retired from films.

In the books written by his children, Ritu Nanda and Rishi Kapoor, they have mentioned their father’s affairs and the turmoil in their marriage. When the affair with actress Vyjayanthimala (she denied it in her memoir) started during the making of romantic drama Sangam, Krishna Kapoor had left the house with the children and moved into a hotel. She was persuaded to return, however, and despite his infidelities, the marriage lasted 42 years, till he passed away in 1988.

A few years later, a fire in RK Studio destroyed the memorabilia preserved there. Eventually, the Studio was sold to the Godrejs, who built luxury apartments there. Anywhere else in the world, it would have been turned into a museum, but in Mumbai, real estate matters more than heritage.

Of the triumvirate of superstars in his time, Dilip Kumar had a brooding, tragic image, Dev Anand was the jaunty one, and Raj Kapoor the Chaplinesque tragicomic hero. In many of his films he played a variation of an innocent lost in an evil world.

IN A BOX:

A pick of 10 films, not among his best known ones:

Neel Kamal (1947): 

A stodgy costume drama about a sculptor, a queen and a lost princess, Kidar Sharma’s film was a box office flop, but gets its place in history for being Raj Kapoor’s debut as a leading man. He did learn the ropes from Sharma though, and soon took up filmmaking himself.

Andaz (1949):

Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar were close friends in real life, but only Mehboob Khan could bring them together in a film — a love triangle in which both men are in love with the same woman (Nargis). The romantic melodrama had great music by Naushad, which greatly contributed to its success. Echoes of the plot were found in Raj Kapoor’s own magnum opus Sangam.

Dastan (1950):

AR Kardar’s film had Raj Kapoor starring with Suraiya as an orphan,  wooed by two brothers, but is in love with the one played by Raj Kapoor. The men’s sister resents thus situation and tries to meddle. The film was a hit, again with Naushad’s music helping along.  The love triangle was a popular plot then, and Raj Kapoor did his fair share.

Anhonee (1952):

KA Abbas’s film had Nargis playing a double role as Roop and her lost sister, a courtesan, Mohini, who, when found and invited into the family home, tries to entrap Roop’s fiancé, played by Raj Kapoor. The nature versus nurture theme was used by Kapoor’s Awara, in a different context and setting. Abbas was a favourite collaborator with Kapoor, whose early films reflected his leftist leanings.

Chori Chori (1956):

A remake of It Happened One Night, directed by Anant Thakur, this film had Nargis as a runaway heiress and Raj Kapoor as a journalist pursuing the story. It turns into a comic journey with the two encountering strange characters on the way. This was the last film in which the two were paired together. She just appeared in a short cameo in his production, Jagte Raho.

Jagte Raho (1956): 

In the only Hindi film directed by Bengali theatre dozen Sombhu Mitra, Raj Kapoor, also the producer, played a poor peasant who comes to the city. He enters an apartment complex to ask for water and is chased off as a thief. Over the course of the night he is exposed to the cruelty and corruption of city folk.

Anari (1958):

In this Hrishikesh Mukerjee film, Raj Kapoor played an honest simpleton, who gets trapped in a racket of spurious medicines manufactured by his employer (Motilal). He falls in love with a woman Nutan) he believes is a maid, but turns out to be the boss’s niece who helps him when is arrested for her uncle’s crime.

Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960):

Playing yet another version of a simple, innocent man in an evil world, a street singer Raju, helps an injured man, who turns out to be the leader of a gang of dacoits. After experiencing their life and crimes, he works towards trying to get them to surrender and get rehabitated. Southern actress Padmini was his love interest. The film was directed by his regular cameraman, but, of course, the RK touch was visible, including a wet sari scene with the heroine.

Chhalia (1960):

Manmohan Desai was not known for making serious films. This one, based on Fyodor Dostoevsy’s White Nights, was just his second, though the role of the good-hearted tramp was made for Raj Kapoor. He saves Shanti (Nutan) from committing suicide and learns that she was abandoned by her husband (Rehman) after Partition, since she was sheltered by a Muslim in Pakistan. He offers her a roof and falls in love with her, but in the end reunites her with her husband. 

Teesri Kasam (1966):

By this time, Raj Kapoor was too old to be playing a simpleton, but just about pulled it off. He played an innocent cart driver, who falls in love with his beautiful passenger, a nautch girl, played by Waheeda Rehman, who, strangely enough did just two films with him as romantic lead. The film, directed by Basu Bhattacharya, was produced by Raj Kapoor’s favourite lyricist, Shailendra. The film was a gem, with great music by Shankar Jaikishan, but flopped so badly, he was financially wiped out. Raj Kapoor’s days as leading man were coming to an end, though he acted with the much younger Rajshree in Around The World (1967) and a debut-making Hema Malini in Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968), before slipping into increasingly infrequent character roles.