Raj Kapoor Biography and Works.

A legendary actor, director, and producer of many Bollywood movies, Raj Kapoor was born on December 14, 1924 at Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province of what is now Pakistan.

Raj Kapoor began his career as a clapper boy assisting director Kidar Sharma. He appeared in films for the first time in the film Inquilab in 1935 at the age of eleven.

The big break came to him when he played the main lead in Neel Kamal in 1947. He established his studio, R K Films, when he was 24 and became the youngest director of his era in the Hindi cinema.

His directorial debut in Aag was a thumping success. He directed many films that are still remembered and loved – Barsaat (1949), Awaara (1951), Shri 420 (1955), and Sangam (1964). He also starred in a number of the films, he directed, often with his real-life love interest, actress, Nargis.

Films like Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Ram Teri Ganga Maili are also to his credit.

At the age of 22, in 1946, Raj Kapoor was married to Krishna Malhotra in a traditional family-arranged wedding. The couple have five children – Randhir, Ritu, Rishi, Rima and Rajiv.

Raj Kapoor suffered from asthma in his later years and died of complications in 1988. He was working on the movie Henna when he died. The film was later completed by his son, Randhir Kapoor.

Noted film personalities of the present Bollywood, Karisma and Kareena Kapoor are the granddaughters of Raj and Krishna Kapoor, being the daughters of their eldest son, Randhir by his wife Babita. His younger brothers Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor were also actors. Rishi Kapoor, the younger son of Raj Kapoor, too is a great actor.

Trivia

Raj Kapoor’s performance in Awaara, was ranked one of the “Top-Ten Performances of all time”, by the Time magazine of the Indian Cinema.