Zinda hai hum hi se naam pyaar ka: Raj Kapoor Centenary Celebration - Page 5

Here are a few unknown facts about Raj Kapoor---

Raj Kappor has discussed several films he wanted to direct. He wanted to make a very subjective film titled "Make Up Utaro". It was about a actor who does not want to grow old, his wife and his women. It was an allegory about illusion and reality, the face and the mask.

Raj Kapoor's maternal uncle ( Mother's brother) actor Jugal Kishore Mehra , converted to Islam and married actress/ singer Anwari Begum. Their daughter was actress Nasreen Agha. Nasreen's daughter is Actress/ singer Salma Agha .This made Raj Kapoor a cousin of Nasreen. There for Salma Agha is the niece of Raj Kapoor.

Formed one of the most iconic and romantic Hindi screen couples of the 50s with 'Nargis (I)'. Off screen, he was passionately and deeply in love with Nargis, while married to Krishna Kapoor.

Raj Kapoor was the highest paid actor with Dilip Kumar in Hindi Cinema from 1950-56 and the 2nd highest paid Hindi film actor from 1957-63 behind Dev Anand.

Grand nephew is director Siddharth Malhotra ( Nephew Prem Kishen son).

Grandfather of Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. His daughter's son, Nikhil Nanda, is married to Shweta Bachchan, daughter of fellow Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan.

Wife Krishna's brother Ravi Nath Malhotra was Dimple Kapadia's secretary. Ravi's son is director Karan Malhotra. Ravi has another son named Rakesh Malhotra who is married to actor Jagdish Raaj's daughter Roopa. Roopa is also the sister of actress Anita Raaj.

Starred in Bengali movie Bari Dadi as a child.

Raj Kapoor's maternal uncle Jugal Kishore Mehra was not the biological father of wife'Anwari Begum's daughter actress Zarina ( Nasreen), He married Anwari Begum when Zarina was 5 years old. He adopted Zarina ( Nasreen ) and accepted her as his own.

Nephew of actor Kamal Kapoor ( Prithviraj's cousin).

Grand uncle to Director Siddharth Malhotra and actress Akanksha Malhotra ( Prem Kishen 's children).

The album The Peter Moss Sound - R. K.'s Film Hits (Instrumental) had electro,disco instrumental's of Raj Kapoor' classic songs. It was recorded in London England in 1981 and released on Multitone Records LTD.

Vishal Goswami (Son of Manoj Kumar) released a ghazal album in 1988 called Surahi. He sang all the songs. The album was released by T Seirs. Raj Kapoor spoke a few lines in the beginning of the album.

Starred in the shelved film Maik Pawar Productions "Umeed" ( Naya Ujala)(1981). Starring Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor,Amjad Khan, Pooja Saxena, Debashree Roy,Rajshekhar, Ravindra Mahajani, Dr. Shreeram Lagoo,Gita Siddharth, Satish Shah,Chandrashekhar, Music by Ghanshyam -Pyare Mohan , Produced by Dr. Maik Pawar,Written and Directed by Naresh Saigal/Dr. Maik Pawar.

Starred in R.K.Nayyar Films "Teesra Kaun"(1963). The film was to be made in Hindi and English. Starring Raj Kapoor,Saira Banu,Joy Mukherjee, Music by Shankar Jaikishen, English dialogue - Arjun Dev Rashq, Story and Screenplay -Harish Kumar Mehra, Hindi Dialogues - Agha Jani Kashmeri, Produced and Directed by R.K. Nayyar.

There is a shelved film "Chhoti Si Duniya" that was being made in 1963. Starring Raj Kapoor and Nutan. It was being directed by Manmohan Desai. It got shelved when the financiers backed out .

Starred in the shelved movie Rawal Films "Chor Mandli"(1976) Starring Ashok Kumar,Raj Kapoor,Nutan, Vinod Mehra,Rita Bhaduri,Nutan, Bindu,Music Kalyanji Anandji, Directed by C.L. Rawal.

There were reports in 1981 that Raj Kapoor was to launch Rajiv Kapoor and a girl in a film titled "Bus Conductor". Nazneen was signed for supporting role. The project fizzled out. In 1993, Satish Kaushik was to direct a film with the same title with Anil Kapoor and Tabu, produced by Nitin Manmohan.

Raj Kappor has discussed several films he wanted to direct . He wanted to make a film titled "Main Aur Mera Dost", a double role film. It would be a light hearted film like Shree 420.

Raj Kappor has discussed several films he wanted to direct. Raj Kapoor had worked out a subject titled "Grand Prix" immediately after returning from the Karvoly Vary with India's first Grand Prix from a major international film festival.

Raj Kapoor has discussed several films he wanted to direct. He wanted to make a film titled "The Hindu". The entire crux of Hindu philosophy and how it implies to good conduct in life in the new world.

Shashi Kapoor referred to actor/production assistant,Tiger Kapoor as friend in an interview "Junior G" magazine, dated May 1991. But in Madhu Jain's book "The Kapoors: The First Family of Indian Cinema", she states that Tiger was a cousin of the Kapoor's.

Although he gained global fame playing a tramp like character on-screen, Kapoor's films rarely had elements of comedy or satirical humour. He alongside Dev Anand is also one of the few Bollywood leading men to have never played a negative role.

On the eve of the centenary celebrations of Indian Cinema in 2013, Kapoor was ranked by UK's Eastern Eye magazine as the 6th greatest Bollywood star of all-time, just a spot below his long-term co-star and former flame Nargis Dutt and a spot above rival and best friend Dev Anand.

Kapoor and his father, acting legend Prithviraj Kapoor, are the first father-son duo in Indian cinematic history to have been bestowed with the Padma Awards by the government of India. Prithviraj was honored with Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour in 1969 while Raj was bestowed with the same in 1971. Raj's youngest brother Shashi also received Padma Bhushan in 2011.

At the time of his death, his net worth, when adjusted for inflation in 2023 terms, was US$ 80 million. It turned out to be a case of massive undervaluation as 30 years after his demise, his prestigious R.K. Studios was sold for an astounding US$ 200 million, it's actual cost as per market prices.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers in both Indian and world cinema, Kapoor in 2001 was named "Best Director of the Millennium" at the Stardust Awards. The following year, he was named "Showman of the Millennium" at the Star Screen Awards.

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

Here are a few unknown facts about Raj Kapoor---

Although he gained global fame playing a tramp like character on-screen, Kapoor's films rarely had elements of comedy or satirical humour.

He alongside Dev Anand is also one of the few Bollywood leading men to have never played a negative role.

Kapoor's films rarely had elements of comedy and satire? Pretty sure that's not accurate. Plenty of films had humour as well as satire. Jaagte raho is entirely a satire. Shree 420 too.

Dev has played negative roles most notably in Jaal. He is plain evil in that one. Dushman too iirc.

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Not sure what the source is, but these two facts need to be checked.

Kapoor's films rarely had elements of comedy and satire? Pretty sure that's not accurate. Plenty of films had humour as well as satire. Jaagte raho is entirely a satire. Shree 420 too.

Dev has played negative roles most notably in Jaal. He is plain evil in that one. Dushman too iirc.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004292/trivia/

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Today, Dec 14, is the birth centenary of the greatest showman and the man considered the doyen of film-making, the first son of the first family of Bollywood: Raj Kapoor.

RK is more celebrated as a filmmaker than an actor, but one cannot overlook his acting prowess by any means.

Although RK remains the epitome of the loveable, luckless tramp with a heart of gold, he has also played roles as the suave and sophisticated urbanite, who, although cheeky and irreverent still possessed an underlying vulnerability that he portrayed so effectively through his eyes and his body language. His self-derisive and resigned facial expression and body language in 'Hum tujhse mohabbat karke sanam' embodying the embittered and heartbroken lover is something rare for any actor during those times. It tells you exactly what his character is feeling even if we did not hear the words of the song. Which is why, I stress, that he was undermined as an actor at the expense of playing up his film-making abilities.

His musicality and ability to hit the nub on the right songs for his movies has been much talked about, but it does deserve mention again because the way he wove his songs seamlessly into the tapestry of his story remains a masterclass. His staple music partners, Shankar-Jaikishan have spoken of how they would compose 5-6 tunes for a particular situation and he would pick one because he was just that discerning.

People make the mistake of assuming he always played the bumbling innocent unfamiliar with the ways of the world but that's a mistake. The Raj in Awara had nothing in common with the Raj in Shree 420 except for the ankle length pants. Or even Rajkumar in Anari or Hiraman in Teesri Kasam. Or the poor, unemployed, unnamed youth in Jaagte Raho who wanders the streets of a heartless big city in search of a drink of water and instead is exposed to the dark and putrid underbelly of corruption and chaos. Who barely speaks a word with his mouth but says volumes with his eyes. Jaagte Raho remains among his best, if not his best performance as an actor.

His movies always had social and moral undertones and there was always a takeaway for the audience - a point to ponder, a slice of real life to dissect, or a lesson to learn. This is seen even in the case of movies he did not direct such as Jaagte Raho, Anari, Teesri Kasam and Phir subah hogi. He consciously chose such movies because he understood the bigger picture: that movie making was more than just providing mere time-pass entertainment. He had a social and moral responsibility to the public that paid to see his movies and that thought reflected in his choices.

He was born Shrishti Nath Kapoor (aka Ranbir Raj Kapoor) in Peshawar in 1924 and his family moved to Bombay where he began apprenticing very early on, also appearing in a small role in the movie Inquilaab (1935). It was only when he began assisting Kidar Sharma that he was offered a lead role opposite Madhubala in Neelkamal (1947).

But his focus was always filmmaking, never acting. He was courageous enough to branch out on his own - despite the formidable legacy his father, the legendary Prithviraj Kapoor had set up in the form of Prithvi theater - and set up RK studios, making his first film under the banner, Aag, at the tender age of 24! Watching Aag it's hard to believe that kind of maturity and complexity of thoughts and ideas could come from someone so young.

Not to mention the innovations he brought about and his novel way of depicting allegory and symbolism - like the Tere bina aag ye chandni/ Ghar aaya mere pardesi dream sequence famous for its imagery, the heavenly staircase and the dark depths of hell showing how much Raj is torn between choosing an honest life and Rita - the love of his life or the life of crime he was sucked into by the villainous KN Singh. Or the symbolism in the songs Mud mud ke na dekh and O janewale mud ke zara dekh ke jaana demonstrating how he's torn between Maya (Nadira/illusion) and Vidya (Nargis/ truth or knowledge).

He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and also has 11 Filmfare awards for acting and directing under his belt.

Let's celebrate this visionary film-maker and actor today on this significant milestone.

Tell us about your favorite RK movies and songs.

And vote in these song polls!

Poll # 1

Poll # 2

Poll # 3

Poll # 4

Poll # 5

PS: mods please GA.

It's a wonderful write-up lizzie, I read it start to end, Thanks for tagging me.

We can divide Raj Kapoors career into two phases, pre Mera Naam Joker Phase and Post Mera Naam Joker phase. If I remember reading correct, MNJ broke Raj Kapoor, financially and creatively, the film was 4 hours long, it was panned by critics and audience turned their back on the film. Anyway it is a cult classic now, I haven't watched the whole film, only bits and pieces.

With Mera Naam Joker Raj Kapoor became a bit "scandalous" in his movies. It was there, a little bit, in his earlier movies too but with MNJ he went a step ahead. However his earlier movies were so good we tend to let it slide. But one thing that remained constant till his last movie was his ear for the music. When it came to music there are very few film makers in India whose films can boast of some really fantastic scores and RK had a lot to do with that. In SJ, Shailendra/Hasrat Jaipuri, Lata and Mukesh he created a great musical team that delivered some of the most memorable songs in the History of Bollywood.

Though he is famous for his Chaplin like tramp character, if I recall correct, he wasn't one in his earlier films. i remember that intense scene between him and Nargis, in Awara, on the beach, that was really good, the chemistry between them was good, I was again reminded of this chemistry between the lead pair when I saw Tezaab and DDLJ. He went tramp with Shree 420 I think, he kind of reinvented himself. but beneath all this he was also a really good actor, you have to be one to reinvent yourself.

Of all the movies that Raj Kapoor has produced, directed and acted in and from the ones which I have seen, these are the movies that I think are quite good.

Jaagta Raho

Teesri Kasam

Boot Polish

Awara and Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai are good too.

As far as songs are concerned I don't understand what do you mean when you say Raj Kapoor songs, does it mean songs from his films or songs which are filmed on him, essentially making them Mukesh songs.

But seriously, how are you supposed to choose a single diamond from a diamond mine, I mean there are atleast 3 songs in Chori chori , and i cannot chose one from them. I will post a few later on in this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7vGizhiAe4

Any songs that are your favorites - either from movies directed / produced by him or the ones he starred in. Like the one I posted - Teri duniya mein. That wasn’t an RK films movie

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Any songs that are your favorites - either from movies directed / produced by him or the ones he starred in. Like the one I posted - Teri duniya mein. That wasn’t an RK films movie

Here is one that comes to my mind, in fact all songs from JR are fantastic. If I am correct, this was the last time Nargis and Raj Kapoor were seen together on screen.

Jaago Mohan Pyare from Jaagte Raho composed by Salil Chaudhary, Written By Shailendra, Sung by Lata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yySN_QoOs2M

OK so I "found" another one. This song with music by Neenu Majumdar: a duet by Neenu Majumdar and Meena Kapoor called Aayi gori Radhika Biraj mein balkhati which was copied as Yashomati maiyya se bole Nandlala in Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Don't know if he was credited in SSS. This movie - Gopinath, 1948 - also starred Raj Kapoor opposite Tripti Mitra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvQCJ9YV6BA

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

OK so I "found" another one. This song with music by Neenu Majumdar: a duet by Neenu Majumdar and Meena Kapoor called Aayi gori Radhika Biraj mein balkhati which was copied as Yashomati maiyya se bole Nandlala in Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Don't know if he was credited in SSS. This movie - Gopinath, 1948 - also starred Raj Kapoor opposite Tripti Mitra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvQCJ9YV6BA

I had absolutely no idea about this, thank you for sharing this, and how did I forget Yashomati Maiyya when best songs from Raj Kapoors films were being discussed. It is an all time favourite, thanks again for reminding me.