Know your Showman

Raj Kapoor (Hindi: राज कपूर, Urdu: راج کپور, Rāj Kapūr, 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.

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. In 1948, at the age of twenty-four, he established his own studio, R. K. Films, and became the youngest film director of his time. His first movie as a producer, director and star was Aag which was also the first of his many films with Nargis. The following year he once again starred with Nargis alongside Dilip Kumar in Mehboob Khan's Andaz which was his first major success as an actor.
He went on to produce, direct and star in many box office hits such as Barsaat (1949), Awaara (1951), Shri 420 (1955), Chori Chori (1956) and Sangam (1964). His ambitious 1970 film, Mera Naam Joker (My name is Joker), which took more than six years to complete was a box office failure and put him into a financial crisis. He 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).
Raj then launched his second eldest son Rishi Kapoor's career when he produced and directed Bobby (1973) which 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. In the latter half of the 1970s and early 1980s Raj acted in fewer films and focused more on producing and directing films based on on the female protognists in Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Prem Rog (1982) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985).
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 film was later completed by his son Randhir Kapoor and released in 1991 going onto become a huge success.

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 (In the Country Where the Ganges Flows) celebrated the newly independent India, and encouraged film-goers to be patriots. Raj Kapoor commissioned these famous lyrics for the movie Shri 420:
Mera joota hai Japani
Ye pataloon Inglistani
Sar pe lal topi Roosi
Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani
My shoes are Japanese
These trousers are English
The red hat on my head is Russian
But still my heart is Indian
The song 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. He introduced the music directors Shankar-Jaikishan and the lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri. 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. He introduced the actors Nimmi, Dimple Kapadia, and Mandakini, as well as launching and reviving the careers of his sons Rishi and Rajiv.

The Kapoor family hailed from what is now Faisalabad (then called Lyallpur) in the Punjab province of present-day Pakistan. Raj Kapoor was born on 14th December 1924, in Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province of what is now 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. In 1946, at the age of twenty-two, Raj Kapoor was wed to Krishna Malhotra belonging to Jabalpur in a traditional family-arranged wedding. Krishna was Raj Kapoor's first cousin once removed, being his father's maternal uncle's daughter. 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.
Raj Kapoor is also known to have had a longtime romantic relationship with the renowned actress Nargis Dutt during the 1950s. The couple starred in several films together, including Awaara and Shri 420.
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. Ranbir Kapoor, son of Rishi and Neetu Kapoor is all set to set the sreen on fire with his debut film Saawariya.

Screen on Fire

Well, let me first apologize for creating one more blogspot on Indian cinema. I know, you might question that why am i further adding to readers woes. But being a Bollywood freak, it was almost impossible for me to refrain myself from not writing about this greatest form of art. I must assure you that you will enjoy reading, Screen on Fire. Watch out this space for some of the most interesting aspects about Indian cinema, very soon.