First family of Bollywood - Kapoors

May be my last topic for a while. I got promotion at work which means I might need to curtail few online activities... 😆

Writing about Kapoor family, I have realized is like writing about history of Bollywood. Prithiviraj the man who began it all started his journey from first Bollywood talkie Alaam Ara. And since then every decade, has seen one member of family who has made some sort of mark in the industry. There are good, bad and ugly apples in the family. I will try to focus on only few members of this branch who actually made some sort of impression on Bollywood.

Again these are my experiences of the actors and not complete information and as always there will be controversial statement. So enter at your own risk.

Kapoor family is intrinsically bound to the industry. From days of Prithviraj Kapoor to his great grandson Ranbir, there has been at least one Kapoor swimming in Bollywood pond.

The truth is I am not fond of all them. Or should I say I can count the ones I like on my fingertips and even then I will need only one hand. But what I love about this family is how abashedly they are in love with Bollywood. And for that alone I want to salute the man who started it all and his family who call Bollywood their home.

Pritiviraj Kapoor
My first Prithiviraj Kapoor movie was Sohrab Modi's Sikander and the word I can use to describe the man is insanely talented. The movie though had another agenda. It was released during India's freedom struggle. And if anyone remembers story of captured Porus and Sikander will remember famous dialogue of Porus and why Sikander left him and his country alone. This was the movie that made maximum use of Prithviraj Kapoor's famous baritone. Now Prithviraj was theater actor and in accordance to the style of movie, the dialogues are on bombastic style. After adjusting the auditory channels, I realized why the man was born to play Akbaar in Mughal-E-Azam.

Vidyapati is the movie that made Prithviraj a star. And it is my misfortune that I haven't been able to find it. But I did find my second Prithviraj movie Dahej directed by maverick director V. Shantaram which starred his first wife Jayshree as Prithviraj Kapoor's character's daughter. The movie is old fashioned though the theme unfortunately is not. Jayshree's Chanda is not the smartest chilli but when taken into perspective of the custom and time, I can see why she and her husband are so lily livered. Prithviraaj Kapoor's character is not. One of the haunting scene is ending scene as we watch Prithviraaj sell everything he owns and brings out the large dowry to find his daughter and son-in-law dead.


So much is spoken about Mugha-E-Azam that there is nothing I can add. Though I have to say I loved watching he and Durga Khote (my favorite dimpled star) interact in the movie. It is well known fact that he was struggling with lines during this movie. And he would famously say after putting make up - "Aab Prithviraj jaa ra hai. Akbaar Aa raha hai." If this reminds RK fan of Sanjay Dutt role well it is no coincidence. It is in his blood. Moving on to MEB, I wanted Akbar to give that brat Salim few lesson on royalty and respect. See here alone is seed of why I am not fond of MEB. I was fond of the villain of love.

My next Prthiviraaj movie is his son's Awara which is incidentally my favorite Raj Kapoor directed movie. It is perfect old school Bollywood movie in my opinion. Some of his other movies that I have watched are Heer Ranjha starring man who defines screen presence - the one and only eccentric star Raj Kumar whose dialogue delivery is legendary, Anand Math and Zindagi. My next favorite is Teen Bahuraniya. As a man who watches his family make utter fool of themselves over an actress who is staying as their neighbor played by Shashikala, Prithviraj is hoot. My last but again my favorite is Kal, Aaj aur Kaal which encapsulates Prithiviraaj to T.

One of the interesting things about Prithiviraj is that he loved theater but wanted to stay away from its negative social repercussion. This is some of the information that I gleaned from my movie crazy extended family. So it could be dubious. But it seems he was not very happy with poor morals of Bollywood and who can blame him. The things they did in past will make new generation blush. From runaway moms and dads who left their family behind to couples living in sin while married to others, it was all go. And I am not even touching upon multiple marriages, rampant infidelities, almost incest, accidents, stud farm- not horse variety, child abuse... Bollywood had a reputation for a reason.

One thing about Prithviraj is if he indulged in some hanky panky it was well hidden but his children were bold. Watching Raj Kapoor go wild must have given him coronary. And then there was Shammi and his famous orgy parties that drove his partner-in-crime (and Raj Kapoor's famous actor Brother-in-law) Premnath's lovely wife Bina Roy to nervous breakdown. And Shashi married foreigner who was elder to him. Oui ma.

Prithiviraj was my first Kapoor love in Bollywood.

Raj Kapoor
Raj Kapoor's life is like an open book. He is famous, his movies are even famous and his multiple infidelities are even more. I have watched too many Raj Kapoor movies including a hideous movie called "Around the world". I think he is one Bollywood actor after Amitabh who I have watched most on screen. The thing about Raj is I am not sure where he ends and his movies start and that is greatest compliment I can give to man whose life aim was to entertain.

It took me a while to get Raj Kapoor magic. And when it comes to troika, though my heart belongs to crazy Dev Anand and my mind to mumbling Dilip Kumar, it is Raj Kapoor who appeals to my senses. I am not fond of his Charlie Chaplin act but I can't deny when it comes to sheer beauty of production, Raj Kapoor was a master. And it helped that his movies had THE MUSIC.

The thing about Raj Kapoor's movie is I am not sure where to start. He has a solid filmography. So I will touch on some of his less known but off beat movies. One of my favorite Raj Kapoor movies is Sharda which has Meena Kumari and theme is bit bold. I like it when movies push traditional boundaries to discuss an issue. Next is Jagte Raho. Based on Engllish movie (which I have watched), I can safely say the movie is good example of how Bollywood can adapt western movie and culturally make it as its own. Jagte Raho's Mohan Pyaare has one of the most iconic cinematic moments when Nargis gives him water. The photography in that scene is simply breath taking. It is one of few movies where I actually loved Raj Kapoor. Another one is Teesri Kasam. I simply love this movie. Waheeda is perfect for that role.

Raj Kapoor I have realized was one of the only Kapoor who could fit into poor man's role. For some reason all other Kapoor always struggled when they had to play comman man except Raj. Awara is my favorite movie and rawness of the famous scene is something that I have rarely seen in my multitude Bollywood watching. It is no wonder that it became RK symbol.

While I am sure there is lot of anger about Raj Kapoor's multiple affairs, the truth is it was a norm at the time. It is not to condone his dalliance or the pain he gave his wife and family but truth is Bollywood was very raw place in those days and affairs were just product of heightened senses and close proximity. While one can give him benefit of doubt for affair with Nargis being young soul reaching for stars, it was his affair with Vyajanthimala that caused maximum damage. By then yellow journalism had sunk its claw into Bollywood.

Raj Kapoor has been blamed for many thing and most of them are true. He was a snob and purveyor of female form. He refused to allow Mandakini to meet press or eat at RK table till she and her family learnt table manners. He had yelled at teenage Padmini Kolhapure during making of Prem Rog for wearing makeup by saying "Can you remember you play a widow whose husband has recently died". He had even droven not so young Dev Anand to tears by stealing his muse Zeenat Aman - though I have my doubt about veracity of this seeing how Dev loved telling tales.

But here is cool fact about Raj Kapoor. While Shashi was called as gentleman actor in Bollywood, Raj was known as most generous man in industry. Every one knows how he persuaded Shammi to appear in role for Prem Rog. But what is perhaps less known is he did the same to Nanda. Baby Nanda as she was fondly called is Master Vinayak's daughter who was Raj Kapoor's friend. Story goes that when her father died, Nanda had approached Raj Kapoor for a role. He had denied saying there was no role for her right now but one day he will have something for her. After death of her then fiance Manmohan Desai, Nanda had gone into depression. Her friend Asha Parekh called Raj Kapoor to intervene. Raj Kapoor had promptly called Nanda asking her to be on sets of Prem Rog saying she was his Thakurain and he needed her on sets. Nanda got out of hibernation and got new lease of life.

There is famous case of Lalita Pawar who had developed tic on face after accidental (or deliberate, jury is still out) slap by Bhagwan. Lalita, who was absolutely gorgeous before accident was left with partial paralysis of her face, which gave her face a squinted look. She was understandably hesitant to face camera and anyways was facing multiple rejections. Raj Kapoor who had by then heard the tale offered her role of Ganga Mai and told her she had in it to make this role special. The role gave her new lease of life but Lalita always talked about how Raj had given her back something more important- her courage. He offered to work with Hrishikesh Mukherjee who was depressed after failure, gave work to Shanker Jaikishen who had composed thousand tunes but had no takers... The list of his generosity is long. Famous poison pen writer Deviyani Chaubal had said that while Rajesh Khanna was heart throb material, Raj Kapoor had nicest heart.

Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor is my next Kapoor love. My first movie starring Shammi was "Teesri Manzil" and everyone by now must be aware of my deep love for Goldie Anand. With lovely Asha Parekh, R.D. Burman gone wild, exquisite Helen dancing in one of my favorite song, this thriller movie is my go to movie. I confess to screaming each time Shammi finds that coat button. My only regret about this movie is the fact Goldie did not give Laxmi Chaaya who plays friend to Asha Parekh, chance to dance. The woman was like a fire when she danced. I even like cute Salim who seems to be little lost amongst the pro. There is very little I hate about this movie except the song "Tumne Mujhe Dekha" and it has nothing to do with the song but because of the unexpected teary eyed Shammi who should have been happy. It was only later that I found out the song was shot after death of Geeta Bali- in fact it was the first shot after her death and every one was concerned on how Shammi would perform. Seeing the end result, I think he acquitted himself remarkably.

My next favorite Shammi movie is Rajkumar. The story is fairly entertaining and it allows Shammi ample time to act like a clown and dance both in which he excels. There is less melodrama and lot of songs mostly shot on Sadhana who looks lovely.

I have to admit I loved watching Shammi. I love his yahoo, his free style dancing. The only thing that I hate is when Shammi cries which for some reason I dislike. There is something inherently positive about the man.

This brings me to one of my most favorite Shammi movie Manorajan. With Shammi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar and baffled Zeenat Aman, the movie is hoot. There is great deal of shenanigans happening on screen which are actually funny. I admit to the fact I have watched the original Irma La Douce which has one of my favorite star and yet I can safely say Manorajan is more fun.

Nasir Hussain directed Tumsa Nahin Dekha is my next Shammi favorite. Nasir Hussain had once famously claimed that he had entered Bollywood with 1 story and he survived by making derivatives of same. I have to say the man is genius but is also telling the truth. His next Shammi movie Dil Dekhe Dekho had similar plot. It does not take away my enjoyment from either movie.


Junglee is a wild movie. My issue with the movie is it has shrill Saira Banu who bleeds my ears. She is my only complaint regarding my most favorite Padosan too. Kashmir Ki Kali fares better simply because it has dimpled coy Sharmila Tagore who does not grate on my nerves. Though I have to say I watch Junglee simply to look at coupling of Saira and Shammi. It is difficult to accept so much gorgeousness can exist in one frame. And all that with backdrop of Kashmir and songs like Aehsan Tera Hoga.

Shammi's personal life was colorful and provided lot of fodder to press. I wonder how his poor father took it. When I found out about his love affair with Egyptian Belly dancer, I was not surprised. The man was notorious womanizer and his wild parties were legendary. It is said Krishna Kapoor pushed him to marry one woman who could ground him- Geeta Bali. There was usual noise in Kapoor Khandaan which died after the hasty Banganga temple marriage. What surprised me though was his falling in love with Mumtaz. I went back to watch Bhramchari (my mom's favorite) just so I could see him dance with Mumtaz. I have to say this he had more chemistry with her than the leading star Rajeshree. Case closed.

Here is a fun fact. I watched Rockstar simply to watch him and fell in love with his grandnephew Ranbir. I accept this as an indication that it was meant to be.

Shashi Kapoor
Trishul is my dad's favorite movie along with Half Ticket. I have lost count on how many times I have been forced to watch this movie. My uncle who was Bollywood encyclopedia said this movie was known as movie of 3 super because it starred Super star Amitabh Bacchan, Super actor Sanjeev Kumar and Super flop Shashi Kapoor. I thought it was a mean moniker for a man with lovely dimples and crooked smile but after trying to get through some of his movies, I agree the man should have focused on quality.

For some reason Dewaar dialogue fits case of Shashi. I guess everyone will agree the man is changeling in Kapoor Khandaan. While the whole family was involved in debauchery, Shashi was gaining reputation of being gentleman. He is also one of the most relatable actors in that snobbish clan. There is something about him that screams outsider in a family that is notoriously known for behaving like entitled brats. One of the reasons could be his marriage with older and smarter Jennifer Kendall. This marriage saw him play Salim. If I remember correctly it was Shammi who told him to take the chance at happiness that saw Shashi banished from Kapoor family house. He had to struggle to provide for his growing family and a reason why he took multiple movies, some were simply bad. He was famously helped in his initial struggle by Nanda who had reputation of helping struggling newcomers. She was genuinely bonafide A-lister at that time.

I am not fond of story line of Jab Jab Phool Khile. But there is something so nave and sweet about this couple that I ended up watching them in few more of their attempt. My favorite Shashi movie is Pyaar Kiye Ja. If you guessed it has something to do with the fact it has Kishore you are half right. The other half is because the movie is simply fun. While I do feel the two lead actresses must have spent a bit more time in makeup room than necessary, Mumtaz looked ravishing. The movie has Kishore, Om Prakash and Mehmood. And yet Shashi not only stands out but he looks right down scrumptious in this souffl of the movie.

One thing I have noticed about Shashi is he could take a step back and allow others to shine without getting lost. If you are as big of AB fan as I am, you must have noticed that he was downright uneasy when it came to romantic scenes. He was sometime awkward with females who did not play his mother. So it helped if he had someone who knew how. Shashi was a master in navigating these scenes. I love Amitabh - Shashi more than Amitabh - Rishi pairing. Some of my favorite movies are Amitabh- Shashi movies like Dewaar, Trishul, Shaan, Do Aur Do Panch (this one is fun), Shaan (my favorite scene is walking in the water scene) and Namak Halal (my most favorite of the duo).

One of the fun things about old Bollywood is how they loved to dis each other in press and were rarely punished for it. Bollywood was like a one big dysfunctional family with multiple parties serving as Thanksgiving dinner where they made up with regularity and networked. There was rampant alcoholism and it helped that most were alcohol buddies. Unless transgression was too big to ignore or scandal too big to hide, they enjoyed the same status as before. Producers, directors, co-stars, and colleagues no one was spared. This makes reading old film magazine so much fun. This was pre-PR time and pre-internet world. Audience didn't spare any time for celebrity except when they entered theater which was the only time they were really harsh. There was questionnaire that was given to every actor - male or female who had worked on certain amount of films to talk about their co-stars.

Shashi topped the list as best co-star for most of his female co-stars and Rakhee was always at the bottom. Rajesh who had tough time with Sharmila and Rakhee during making of Daag had called them - "Hell cats on two legs" for their legendary catfights and their habit of eating chewing gum and refusing to help when camera was not on them. Shashi had agreed about their lack of help in providing cue and yet it was with Rakhee that he made some of his best movies.

I love Sharmilee. The songs, lovely Rakhee and handsome dashing Shashi with backdrop of Kashmir. Baasera and Kabhi Kabhi are not my cup of tea and yet I cannot deny the duo looked good together. Fakira, Waqt (a collective effort though the man of tremendous screen presence Raj Kumar outshines all of them) are few of my favorite Shashi movie.

It goes without saying I love Shashi as producer than him as an actor. What is with these Kapoors? What makes them such a good producer? Junoon , Kalyug, Vijeta and 36 Chowringhee Lane are critic darling, Ajooba is my personal favorite. But it is Utsaav that takes the cake. This is one movie that I will recommend to anyone who wants to watch something different and good. Bharath EK khoj is my favorite serial. Utsaav has somewhat similar bones. When I was learning Sanskrit, I fell in love with people like Kalidaas and Shudraka. Utsaav is based on one of Shudraka's play. Directed by Girish Karnad it has Shashi, Rekha, Amjad Khan, Neena Gupta, Anuradha Patel, Shekar Suman and hot Anant Nag. Watching portly Amjad Khan play Vatsayana, who wants to find different positions for his book Kamasutra is price of admission ticket itself. But we also have young Anant Nag as thief and ravishing Rekha who looked even better than she did in her tailor made Umarojaan role. The songs of this movie are amazing. And then we have Shashi playing diabolic comical villain who is outsmarted by Rekha's courtsen Vasantsena every single time. Shashi walks the fine line between outright villainy and pathos with finesse- a trait that was once only attributed to Amjad Khan. My only complaint about this movie is watching two gorgeous females - Rekha and Anuradha Patel fight over puny Shekar Suman. They could surely have found someone better...

New Delhi Times is Shashi's crowning glory. It is quite good. I have seen him in more than few Merchant Ivory movies. My favorite is Heat and Dust. The novel on which this movie is based is clear on the point that it wants to show India from Birtisher's point of view. The psychological implications involved in affair of Nawab and the colonial official's wife are far more interesting than her great granddaughter's romance. Movie makes it far more romantic. It helps that Nawaab is played with finesse by Shashi.

All in all I can safely say Shashi had a career which was different than his brothers.

Kapoor Children - Rishi, Randhir, Chintu, Kunal, Karan, Sanjaana
Rishi Kapoor
A part of me says that Rishi Kapoor deserves a separate post. He does have a long fruitful career in Bollywood. And yet there is something about Rishi that has never stood out. I am happy my mother is not reading this post. Rishi is simply her favorite actor. My first Rishi movie is Sagaar. In its time it was hyped as Bobby reuniting with her love. Here is a thing. Dimple looks ravishing in the movie especially in the song Jaane Do Na. It is just that I felt like she was carrying all the load of seduction. Make no mistake. I don't think Rishi is bad actor. On contrary I think he was one of our natural actors. Here is the thing. Bollywood shuns natural actor. The base of Bollywood is drama which means there will be larger than life elements in movie. Natural actors don't usually fare well unless they are not in lead under such circumstances. I am not surprised that he could never win Bollywood throne.

My next movie was Bobby. I had to see where it all began. I loved the pair. There is something sweet about the pair. My only beef is with the scene where older Aruna Irani try to seduce young uneasy Rishi's character. The thing is this kind of teenage seduction exists in real life and some culture actively encourages it to provide sex education to young boy. The fact that he was mere teenager was huge turnoff. Moving on... The songs are cute. The pair looks wholesome even Bobby in her short skirts. Here is my second issue with Rishi. He looks way too cute and wholesome in romantic role. It is like watching my brother with his girlfriend. And unfortunately the man did lot of romantic movie.

My favorite Rishi movies has him pair with his real life love Neetu Singh in Rafoo Chakkar (inspired by one of my most favorite Hollywood movie "Some like it hot") and Khel Khel Main (along with dashing Rakesh Roshan. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that he had no hair. It is most unfair I tell you).

Amar Akbar Anthony is one of my favorite go to movie. Rishi has not one but two awesome songs in it. Sargam is my next favorite. He learnt playing Dafli for the movie. Here is a cool fact about Kapoors. Most of them could play one or two musical instruments. They simply love music. Shammi actually knew how to play drums for Teesri Manzil. Similarly Rishi learnt how to play guitar for Karz which is my favorite movie for its awesome songs. My only complaint is Tina Munim. Hum Kissese Kum Nahin is my favorite Nasir Husain movie. I love the part where Zeenat appears in the title song. Yeh Waada Raha has surpassed its movie's life span all thanks to its title song.

Make no mistake. I like Rishi's movies. I love Tawaif, Ek Chaddar Maili Si and Prem Rog because they are good social movies. Tawaif has one of the most complex triangles where it becomes difficult to root for either pair. Nasseb Apna Apna is surprisingly good movie. My sacrilege of the day- I hate Chandani though I love the songs. You must have noted I avoid Yash Chopra romances due to my famous distaste for romance. Kabhi Kabhi bored me to tears but Chandani made me actively want to take hatchet to the screen. The movie is stupid but the title song is murder. Who had the bright idea of having Sridevi sing in title song? The women can barely speak proper Hindi and her voice grate. Her lines make the song sound like chipmunk version.

My next Rishi favorite is Bol Radha Bol. Juhi is my favorite and movie is fun. Here is a thing. Rishi has talent and I am glad free of the need to play lead, he has finally received platform to act. His Rauf Lala was vicious. I even loved him in Namastey London. Do Dooni Char was fun. I wish they had left his face a bit normal in Kapoor and sons but I enjoyed his acerbic bon mots in the movie.

Randhir Kapoor
Randhir is my favorite RK son. It has nothing to do with his talent and everything to do with the fact that I know where I stand with him. I like Joy Mukherjee for same reason. They don't make taxing movie. So when I want light entertainment I watch his movie. Jawani Diwani is my favorite Randhir movie. I like his Haath Ki Safai, Chacha Batijha, Ponga Pandit, Rampur Ka Laxman(which has my favorite Kishore duet song Gum hai kissike) and Dharam Karam too. He is the most laid back Kapoor son and I wonder what is it that made him fall for super ambitious Babita. I love the pair in his directorial debut Kal, Aaj aur Kal. The thing I noticed about Randhir is he was decent director. If encouraged bit more, he could have fared well. When I look at some of the half cooked affairs from 70's and 80's, I think Randhir had a talent. His is case of talent wasted.

Rajiv Kapoor
He is another wasted opportunity. Ram Teri Ganga Maili is possibly one of the few movies that pushed the norms of decency in mainstream Hindi movie. If I had not watched Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram I would have called this one as most indecent. But when your comparison is between under clad lead and few baring shots, I feel the former wins. Rajiv was lost in this movie as he was not the one who was baring. So did the other lead Divya Rana with whom he had 2 minutes romance. The thing about Rajiv is he was acknowledged by industry as a good editor- he was just not an actor.

Sanjana Kapoor
I have to confess I have watched two of her movies and overlooked her. It should sum up her acting career. Though I have to confess I actually saw Hero Hiralal, a dud of movie with Naseeruddin Shah as male lead. This was sometime during period when I saw Jalwa which I openly confess I liked. Sanjana and movie was a failure. The thing I noticed about Sanjana is she is bit too posh for her role and lacked talent to hide it. This made her look frivolous. I had the same complaint when I watched Sai Paranjpe's daughter romance Milind Gunaji in a telefilm. She simply did not fit but Milind looked hot. Sanjana was more in news with her 2 minutes marriage with Adi Bhattacharya which caused Shashi to play villain. The couple parted ways eventually. She did gain more acknowledgements for work in Prithvi Theater. I remember reading about how she revived Prithvi by starting famed Prithvi festival and what goes into planning one. It was a fascinating read. Have to say she is her mother's daughter.

Kunal Kapoor
As I looked at his filmography on wiki, I realized I have watched all his films. It is not a big deal seeing it is 7 movies but what is interesting is I love four of them. Utsav is my favorite but I also love Junoon, Vijeta and Trikal. The last captures moody ambience of pre-independent Goa. It is a very atmospheric interesting movie. Watch out for Nina Gupta whose character is used as medium by grieving matriarch to get in touch to her dead husband. While Neena uses would be father-in-law of granddaughter to escape poverty. Ahista Ahista has a good germ of story though I wish it was not a tragedy. I loved Nanda in this one.

Karan Kapoor
Karan's filmography is even shorter than his brother but bit longer than his sister. After watching Sultanat I can see why. The movie almost deep sixed career of Juhi Chawla, who was making her debut on silver screen, till Aamir and his Papa Kehte Hai rescued her from near obscurity and made her star. Unfortunately Karan did not have her luck. Sultanat is male candy galore. Both Sunny and Dharmaji and even Karan looked hot. Juhi is not presented well for a debutant but I remember her so she must have something in her even then. The funny thing is I don't remember Sridevi in this movie at all. I confess I had tough time stomaching his next movie Loha (I watch dumb and dull movies in my search for gems). I did not bother to find another one starring Karan after that movie. That sums up my experience of Karan Kapoor.

Kapoor Grandchildren- Karishma, Kareena and Ranbir
Karishma is like Honey Boo Boo. She had monster stage mom who poured all her ambition into pushing her daughter to the top. Babita left Kapoor family in 90's to get away from her not so ambitious husband. Even with the usual sympathy that someone of her sex deserves, I find it difficult to stomach the women. It was known fact that Karishma had no talent and showed no love towards acting. Her first movie Prem Kaidi with Harish was terrible that genuinely worked on novelty of watching Kapoor grand-daughter work in movies. She put T in terrible. Her clothes were horrendous, her hairstyle and her makeup aged her. Karishma looked and moved like a puppet. Her next few were not all that good. There was rumor that Babita styled her daughter into 70's clothing like she had previously worn when she was a star. I have to hand it out to Karishma though. She worked hard into improving herself.

Govinda is bit of a pill. You have to take him slowly. But he was mega talented and his movies were entertaining. His dance steps were usually horrible to downright nasty but always difficult. His co-stars complained about having to match his energy and his style. Karishma was not one of them. She improved in bits and pieces.

Her big moment arrived in a small movie called Rakshak. Sunil had previously worked in Mohra with Raveena who was roped in to add glamour to the movie. People were tittering over the fact that glamorous Raveena was going to make Karishma look more awful if possible. Shehar Ki ladki song is lovely but it was song Sundara Sundara that walked away with praise. Karishma had discovered Manish Malhotra and had undergone transformation to play role in Raja Hindustani. In the days of not so powerful internet it was easy to hide the look.

She looked like million dollars in Raja Hindustan and became a real threat. Judwa, Hero no. 1 established her but it was Yash Chopra directed "Dil toh Pagal Hai" that made her soar. The role was rejected by many actresses of that time. It was a dance movie and Madhuri who played the lead was goddess of dance. Karishma spoke of trouble having to match Shiamak's choreography but it all worked out. Madhuri was ageing badly and while she could still dance, Shiamak's energetic choreography suited younger Karishma more. And she rocked Manish Malhotra outfits. People in theatre cheered when Akshay and Karishma meet at the end. Karishma in Bollywood had arrived.

Karishma was known for her moodiness. But when I read some of the taunting things written about her, I feel really bad for her. She is not a good actress. Even her Fida and Zubeida (I love songs of this movie) have not been able to change my mind. When I heard about her wanting to leave industry after marriage or her love for Abhishekh who had openly spoken about not wanting to act, it all made sense. While Babita won the first round against Kapoor family, I feel Karishma lost something.

Kareena Kapoor
Kareena is her mother incarnate. She is ambitious and loved being Kapoor. Her first movie Refugee was off beat enough for me to notice that she had talent. She was bit roly poly who could not dance. And she lost weight and learnt dancing for her second. She was like an upgraded version of her sister and knew how to sell herself in press. I knew the girl was going to reach the top and Babita was not going to have any trouble with her. Two things helped Kareena. Babita had gone back to Kapoor fold and Bollywood was trying to clean its image.

80's and early 90's Bollywood was loud and garish. It had sensibilities that suited Indian society. Opening of market transformed India in many ways. It brought cultural changes. Everything got toned down and that reflected in movies too. People moved abroad and new NRI culture was born. The scions of production houses like Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra made their appearances. India was getting polished from top to bottom and Bollywood was no different. It is not surprising Kareena with sense of entitlement became poster child of new Bollywood.

Kapoor family is very old. Along with Samarth-Mukherjee family they form some of oldest family in Bollywood. It is no accident that it was Kajol who ruled new Bollywood. The production houses belong to old houses. Beside Kareena looked groomed, polished and had talent. I am not fond her Poo act in Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gaam. The whole movie sans AB and Hrithik give me head ache. But I have to agree she looks like million bucks. My favorite Kareena movie is "Jab We Met". I guess there are times when Kareena remembers she is in acting profession and aces a role. This movie is one of them.

3 idiots is universally loved movie and I am no exception. Talash is another one. The thing is I am not fond of Kareena -the actress but I am fond of Kareena - the person. She embodies all the bad-good qualities of her illustrious family. Her presence in industry adds a certain flavor.

Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir is my choice of new generation actors and only 3rd Kapoor whom I actually love. My first Ranbir movie was Sawariya. The movie is bit of blue pill. I am not sure what was going on in SLB's head when he made this movie. The only thing I could think of is this movie must be cinematographer's nightmare. The movie has a certain dreamy aspect to it. And some of the shots are simply poetic. Ranbir and Sonam fitted the part. My confession no. 1 is I didn't think either of them had any huge talent but I thought they looked good together. Ranbir seemed to have all the good qualities of Kapor family - screen presence, IT factor and his grand-pa's secret weapon. He has light in him that lits the screen. I was glad he was slim and looked like an average actor. It means there was room for improvement.

My next glimpse of Ranbir was song Bachna Ae Haseeno- not the whole movies mind you. I knew I was watching birth of a star.I was simply glad that he was not cute like his father, liked the fact that he had some acting and dancing ability all packaged in great screen presence. And that light the screen effect.

Rajneeti gave me a pause. He looked hot in the movie and it felt like he had inherited this stand back and watch without getting lost ability of his uncle Shashi. Not bad I thought. His acting abilities had improved drastically.

My next was Ajaab Pyar Ki Gajab Kahani. My mom can work as talent scout. She has ability to pick chaff from wheat and throw them away. So I watch what she tells me to. Apart from cutesy chemistry of RK and Kat I got nothing. Though I could see that he had improved even more, his dancing skills matched the songs and he could lip synch. And he was polishing his acts.

When I first saw Barfi I almost had a heart attack. The man could act period and he was natural actor. It is one of those moments, when I cursed him for wanting to do his thing. Unlike Tamil or Malayalam industry that is proud of its actor stars, Bollywood chews and spits them out. I had gone through whole heart burn process with Aamir and watched Guru Dutt flame out.

My mother then told me about "Wake Up Sid" and I could see how the movie lit up that acting flame in him. Ranbir has inherited another of his grand-pa's frustrating quality. He gives out that aura of a man with potential.

My next was "Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani". I loved it is understatement. Ranbir's character resonated with me because I love adventure and I have this travel bug handed out to me from my mother's side. One of the reviews of YJHD encapsulated what I felt about this movie. It was movie that was moving towards making him a superstar. Deepika looked and acted better. RK simply floated in that movie and looked like million dollar star. It came as shock when I heard that he had crashed.

Tamasha is my favorite RK movie. I could see my frustration in Ved. I hate Maths too. And I had to study something that was simply not my strength. ADHM is kind of poor consolation to a man with potential. Still it did what it set out to do. It put RK's career back on track. So when did I fall in love with Ranbir- the actor. It was Rockstar when I watched him with Shammi and when he lip synched to Phir Ud Chala. I knew my love had transferred to his nephew. It was meant to be...

Kapoor - Extended and by Law
I have to confess I didn't find any movie to watch Trilok Kapoor (Prithviraj Kapoor's brother) though I have heard from grand pa that he was loved for playing Shiv. I have watched his still from a movie. That is nearest I have got to watch him on screen.

Babita was ambition incarnate. She had zero talent but I could see the burning fire in her to move up. She was my aunt's favorite because she paired with Jeetendra. Do I think Babita could have reached top. Yes I do. She was super hard working and had fire in her. I am not sure what made her marry in Kapoor family and I feel bad for her to be attracted to laidback person like Randhir. She must have been harridan like wife to him. And that is pity because by all accounts she was quite good at networking. When Tanuja brought her daughter Kajol in industry, everyone wanted her to take few tips from Babita on how to present daughters.

It is funny how Kapoor family stopped Babita and second Kapoor bahu Neetu Singh made her own mind to not work. It became bone of contention between two. Do Kaaliyan is my first Neetu movie and it is enough for anyone to like her. The next movie I saw of hers is Yaadon Ki Baaraat where she had few dancing steps that felt off. Let me come out and say this. They were vulgar. And when I found out Neetu was only 14 when she did that my movie, I could sympathize with her decision to leave. One thing I love about Neetu Singh is she had instant chemistry with her co-stars. Be it Amitabh (The Great Gambler, Yaraana) or Jeetendra (Dharam Veer) or her brother-in-law Randhir (Kaasme Vaade) or her own hubby she looked good with all of them. But I really loved watching her with Shashi. One of the reasons Neetu Singh gave for leaving the industry is her constant pairing with her in laws. Another was for having seen seamier side of industry. She could dance reasonably well and was good actress. Did I think she could have reached the top? The answer is yes. She was known as hardworking actress with good sense of clothing and knew what worked for her. If not anything Neetu can be called as child artiste successfully transitioned well into adulthood in movies.

Jennifer Kendal was a brilliant actress. With back ground like her it is not a surprise. I have watched her Ghar-Bhaire, Heat and Dust, 36 Chowringhee Lane and Junoon. They are all equally good. There is story on how she forced Shashi to look after his health by sending him tiffin with cooked vegetable. The role of Utsav must have been his dream come true phase. Though I heard he mourned her death deeply.

My first Saif Ali Khan was Parampara which I thought was silly muddle. I watched few more of his movies and then I watched him in Dil Chata hai. After watching him play cad in Yeh Dillagi and Kya Kehna it was relief to see him play a normal lovelorn guy. I will be frank this was first movie that forced me to take a look at him.

His breaking marriage along with his penchant for picking caddish roles is said to be one of the reasons why he could never become fourth Khan. That and the fact he never seemed to take his career seriously. I love lot of his movies to be honest - Tu Khiladi Main Anari, Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, Biwi no. 1, Hum Tum, Parineeta, Ek Haseena Thi, Omkaara, Rangoon, EKlavya... The thing about him is I know I like his movies but if you ask me whether I like his acting I draw blank. Though if you give me individual movie I will say he was good. There is something about the man that makes him utterly forgettable and still worthy of remembering. It is baffling. This could be reason why flops don't seem to affect him as they affect others.


I heard about Geeta Bali from my grand mom. She had survived small pox in first year of her marriage. It was touch and go situation for her and at great cost. She lost her baby and part of her incredible beauty though she had no real blemishes. In one of those rare post twilight talks that you have with your elders where they share about their past, grand mom talked about how my grandpa did everything for her (he was motherless) till she got back on her feet. Anand math was her favorite movie and mom decided that we should watch it together. This movie is my rare memory of her as she died soon after when I was really young. I confess I don't remember much of the movie though it was good. I do remember turbaned Geeta Bali and Vande Mataram song. I loved the song. Vande Mataram till then was that sleepy recital in the morning at school. This one was fun and I wish this is how we could have sang it in school. I remember telling something of sort to my mom.

I did watch her in few more movies. One with Raj Kapoor (Bawre Nain I guess), few noirs with Dev Anand (Jaal, Baazi). I did remember reading about her in paper when bitter Kidar Sharma had talked about his discoveries. Geeta Bali was the only one spared as one nicest and hardest worker. And then I read about how she helped Anil Kapoor's father to start his own production and how having her photo at start became bone of contention between two families.

Albela is my favorite movie. If she had done only this one movie she would have be remembered. It is kind of movie that surpasses expectation. A rare movie where everything just comes together. C. Ramchandra had written music for this movie in course of few days. And since he could find no male singer at short notice, had to sing them. He was one of a kind. Music of this movie of course is what holds this movie together.

I have seen Raj Kapoor's brother in law Premnath play good and bad guy and I confess I like his bad side more. As I watched Nimmi fall in doomed love in Barsaa,t I could see where she was coming from. The man was sensuous. Not sexy. He had that bad boy quality to max. Poor Bina Roy had no chance to escape when they came together for Aurat.

My next favorite for Premnath movie is Teesri Manzil. I confess I felt sorry for the man at the end. He has made so many movies and I have watched so many of them that it will require a seperate post. But I have to draw line somewhere. So I stop with this 2 movies. Though I confess I loved to watch him on screen.

I confess I have watched his brother Rajendranath in many movies. He usually played stupid guy- sometime with mean streak. And I am sure he was not stupid. But here is the thing while I may have difficulty in recalling his movies, his image remained with me. In Yes Boss there is a scene where boss played by Aditya Pancholi stands with mango in his hand. For some reason, the scene reminded me of Rajendranath. In most of his movies Shammi Kapoor who played lead pulled a similar prank in this movie.

There are just too many Kapoors and their extended family in Bollywood. I have decided to stop here with these few.


On final note. Kapoors are not easy people to love. They are loud, incredibly stupid and fun. But they are woven in fabric of Bollywood. So if you find yourself loving even one of them, don't feel ashamed. It is simply admitting the fact that you love Bollywood..

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