By Rajan Narayan

I HAVE always been a great fan of Raj Kapoor. Right from the beginning Raj Kapoor was deeply involved in social issues. Raj Kapoor modeled himself on the famous comedian Charlie Chaplin of the silent movie era. My first film of Raj Kapoor was “Awaara” with the legendary actress Nargis Dutt. Indeed, most of the early films of Raj Kapoor were with Nargis with whom he had a passionate relationship.
Raj Kapoor was the first person who empowered women and gave new women actresses or actors a break. All his women heroines were outstanding ranging from Vyjayanthimala from “Sangam” movie to Padmini Kolhapuri and Simi Garewal in “Mera Naam Joker” movie. It was Raj Kapoor who celebrated young love in “Bobby” which starred his son Rishi Kapoor with a newcomer Dimple Kapadia.
To everyone’s shock and surprise, Dimple Kapadia got married to Rajesh Khanna. Among his other heroines were Zeenat Aman in “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” and Mandakini from “Ram Teri Ganga Maili.”
Raj Kapoor also took a great interest in his songs both in the films he acted in and directed. It is not widely known that in many of his films, Raj Kapoor composed his own songs. Among his favorite singers were Lata Mangeshkar and Nitin Mukesh. Raj Kapoor was so passionate about cinema that he seldom thought about the box-office when making his films.
When he was passionate about the subject such as the theme that all of us are jokers and we all had to play our part in life’s stories. The inspiration for “Mera Naam Joker” was perhaps his understanding from reading William Shakespeare about the world being a stage and we are all merely actors. The truth is that though “Mera Naam Joker” is considered an iconic film commercially it was a big failure.
The Raj Kapoor films became famous the world over and for some reason particularly in the Soviet Union. The film “Awaara” with its Socialist theme was a universal favorite. Later, his granddaughter Karishma revealed that while visiting New York she once got a free taxi ride when she revealed she was Raj Kapoor’s granddaughter.
In the Kapoor tradition, the daughters were not allowed to enter the film world. Raj Kapoor’s brothers Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor were equally successful. Shashi made many art films including “The Householder” with his wife Jennifer Kendal. The young Shammi Kapoor made his mark with his dancing and unabashed style of singing in films like the film “Junglee” for example.
Raj Kapoor’s son Randhir was more into direction than acting. But his daughters Karishma and Kareena made up for it and emerged as the top stars in Bollywood. Raj Kapoor’s grandson Ranbir Kapoor, son of Rishi Kapoor, carries on his grandfather’s legacy.
The Kapoor khaandan is celebrating the 100th birthday anniversary of their patriarch Raj Kapoor. Randhir Kapoor had a very interesting meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At the meeting, Babita started a long speech. Modi, showing a great sense of humor, intervened with the cut. All the Kapoor couples were there including Kareena and Saif Ali Khan, Ranbir and Alia Bhat Karisma Kapoor and Babita among the senior members of the family. None of the first generation Kapoor brothers are alive today but Randhir and Babita Kapoor are prominently involved in the current ongoing celebration of Raj Kapoor’s 100th birthday and his contribution to Hindi cinema’s history and legacy.