Kapoor Family Success Story; Prithviraj – Raj Kapoor | Ranbir Kapoor Kareena | 100 years of showman Raj Kapoor: Kapoor clan appeared in more than 1100 films; Daughter-in-law and daughters were prohibited from acting, RK studio was sold under compulsion

The Kapoor family has dominated the Hindi film industry for the last 9 decades. Raj Kapoor truly took this clan forward.

In the last two episodes of our special series ‘Show Man Ke 100 Saal’, you read about Raj Kapoor’s childhood and his film journey.

In the last episode of the series, we talked about the legacy of the Kapoor family. It is in two chapters, the first chapter contains achievements and the second chapter contains controversies related to the Kapoor family.

Chapter-1:- Achievement of Kapoor Family Some star has definitely emerged from the four generations of the Kapoor family. Prithviraj Kapoor was the first star of this family. Among the six children of Prithviraj, Raj Kapoor carried forward the legacy of the family. In the third generation, Raj Kapoor’s middle son Rishi Kapoor emerged as the biggest star.

In the fourth generation, Randhir Kapoor’s two daughters Karisma and Kareena were included among the top actresses. Ranbir Kapoor of this generation is counted among the best actors today.

From the first generation to the fourth generation, 19 people from this family of total 37 people came into films. Out of which 18 people worked as actors in 1171 films. Whereas, 19 people worked as directors in 23 films, producers in 47 films and assistant directors in 21 films.

This family has won a total of 3 Padma Awards, 9 National Awards and 3 Dadasaheb Phalke Awards.

Before marriage, the daughters-in-law of the Kapoor family also had good names in the film industry. However, many left acting after marriage. At present, Ranbir Kapoor’s wife Alia Bhatt is pursuing a successful career even after marriage.

Memorial to the Kapoor family’s legacy – RK Studio A great monument to Raj Kapoor’s legacy was the RK Studios in Chembur, Mumbai. Raj Kapoor made 21 films under its banner. There was discussion about Holi and Ganpati celebrations held every year inside RK Studio. Since Raj Kapoor built this studio, it was later owned by his sons Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv.

Growing up, Randhir Kapoor took over the responsibility of management of the studio. There was a fire there in 2017. Everything was burnt to ashes. From costumes to technical equipment and photos were also burnt.

Ultimately, Raj Kapoor’s three sons Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv decided to sell it with mutual consent.

RK Studios was built by Raj Kapoor in 1948.

RK Studio was forced to sell Randhir had also given the reason for selling the studio in an interview given to BBC Hindi. He had said, ‘We wanted to renovate RK Studio, but one thing was bothering us. Actually, no one goes there for shooting anymore.

Almost all the shootings take place in Film City. Even if we had rebuilt the studio, there would be no assurance that anyone would come there. On top of that, maintenance costs a lot of money. Ultimately, after taking the permission of mother Krishna Raj, we decided to sell it with a sad heart.

At present Randhir is the senior most member in the Kapoor family. Both his younger brothers Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv are no more in this world.

Chapter-2:- 5 controversies related to Kapoor family 1- Raj Kapoor’s affair with Vyjayanthimala, wife Krishna left the house in anger Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala worked in the film ‘Sangam’ (1964). The closeness between the two increased during the shooting. Raj Kapoor was already married.

Obviously, Krishna was completely heartbroken after seeing her husband Raj with another woman. He left the house along with the children. She went to live in Natraj Hotel located on Marine Drive, Mumbai.

Stayed there for a few days, then shifted to her second house in Mumbai itself. Krishna did not come home until Raj Kapoor ended his relationship with Vyjayanthimala.

Vyjayanthimala was a great actress of the 50-60s. He has been awarded 5 Filmfare Awards. The Government of India has also honored him with Padmashree.

2- Vyjayanthimala denied the affair, called Raj Kapoor hungry for publicity Vyjayanthimala later rejected the news of her affair with Raj Kapoor. He wrote in his biography that Raj Kapoor had manufactured the matter of affair only for publicity.

Expressing his displeasure over this, Rishi Kapoor had written, ‘How can she deny the news of affair. He has no right to say so. She is talking wrong about that man (Raj Kapoor), who is not in this world to present his side. Had Papa been alive today, she (Vyjayantimala) would not have been able to openly call him publicity hungry.

3- Kapoor family’s condition for daughters-in-law After Raj Kapoor, his three sons Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv carried forward the film legacy. Apart from three sons, Raj Kapoor also had two daughters (Ritu and Reema). She did not appear in films. Actually, there was a strict rule in the Kapoor family that daughter-in-law and daughter would not get into acting.

Raj Kapoor’s elder daughter-in-law Babita’s father used to be an actor. When Babita came into films, she also got a lot of success. Babita, who had appeared in films like ‘Ek Haseena Do Deewane’, ‘Pehchaan’, ‘Doli’, left acting after marrying Randhir.

Similarly, the top actress of her time, Neetu Singh, had distanced herself from films after her marriage with Rishi Kapoor. However, Neetu said that she had left films not for any tradition but for herself. After 29 years, Neetu made a comeback with her husband Rishi in the film ‘Love Aaj Kal’.

Shammi Kapoor’s first wife Geeta was the first daughter-in-law of the Bali family, who continued working in films even after marriage. After marriage, Geeta worked in 8 films.

In true sense, Raj Kapoor’s granddaughter and Randhir Kapoor’s elder daughter Karishma broke this spell.

He debuted in films in 1991 at the age of just 16. His father Randhir was against this decision. However, Karishma got the support of her mother Babita. It is said that there was a tussle between Randhir and Babita over Karishma joining the film. There was a dispute between the two, which even led to separation.

Later, Randhir himself admitted that he could not prove to be a good father to his daughters. Randhir said that he is proud of both his daughters (Karishma and Kareena). He has achieved top position in the industry without any support.

Kareena’s (left) grandfather Raj Kapoor had named her ‘Siddima’, but mother Babita named her Kareena, inspired by a book Anna Karenina read during pregnancy.

4- If daughter Riddhima had come into films, Rishi would have committed suicide. Raj Kapoor’s younger son Rishi Kapoor also did not allow his daughter Riddhima to enter films. This was revealed by his wife Neetu Kapoor in Rishi’s autobiography ‘Khullam-Khulla’. Neetu said that if her daughter had entered the industry, she might have left many actresses behind.

But she did not want to make her father sad. She knew that if she even talked about acting, Rishi would commit suicide. It’s not that they were conservative, they were just extra protective of their daughter.

Riddhima respected her father’s wishes and pursued a career in fashion designing. Four years after her father’s death, Riddhima made her screen debut with the show ‘Bollywood Wives’.

Ranbir and Riddhima with mother Neetu Kapoor (centre). Ranbir and Riddhima were very close to their grandfather Raj Kapoor. Both of them used to go to meet grandfather at his bungalow in Chembur every weekend.

5- Rajiv was angry with his father Rajiv had the shortest career among the three sons of Raj Kapoor. To improve his career, Raj Kapoor made the film ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’, but the film’s actress Mandakini was discussed more than Rajiv.

According to a report in Laharen Retro, Rajiv became angry with his father after the release of ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’. Rajeev was of the view that the project was not done the way it should have been done. Despite being the lead actor, his role was not discussed.

About Rajiv, his elder brother Rishi Kapoor had written, ‘Chimpu i.e. Rajiv was the most talented among the three brothers. He had a good sense of music. He played the piano beautifully without learning. I am sad that he could not understand his potential. If he had understood his potential, he would have gone much further.

Rajiv Kapoor, born on 25 August 1962, has worked in very few films.

Source- The stories of the episode have been taken from Rishi Kapoor’s biography ‘Khullam Khulla’, BBC Hindi and Leharen Retro. Data is taken from IMDB.

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Read the last two episodes here..

Witnessed the death of brothers at the age of 1- 7; Got my first film after getting slapped

Year 1930, place St. Xavier’s School, Bombay. A drama was going on in the school. A 6-year-old boy was wearing a long robe like a priest. The robe was long and the boy’s height was short. He was barely able to control himself. He was so excited when he went on stage, he spoke the same dialogue twice. Read the full news..

2- Ask to borrow money from a servant for a film; When Nehru asked, a picture was made on children.

Raj Kapoor’s films were not playing. Raj knew that flop films could become a problem. Instead of retreating, he took a step forward and started his own production house ‘RK Films’ in 1948.

Started making first film ‘Aag’, spent a lot of money. So much so that by the time the film was completed, the unit had to borrow money from the servants for tea and snacks. Read the full news..

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