RAJ KAPOOR.

Ranbirraj "Raj" Kapoor (Hindi: राज कपूर, Urdu: راج کپُور Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 - 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor and director of Hindi cinema.^[1] He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara (1951) and Boot Polish (1954) were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Raj Kapoor was born in Peshawar, British India, to actor Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni (Rama) Devi Kapoor (née Mehra). He was the eldest of the six children in a Punjabi family.^[2][3][4] He was the grandson of Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor and great-grandson of Dewan Keshavmal Kapoor, part of the famous Kapoor family. Raj's younger brothers are the actors Shashi Kapoor , aka Balbir Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor , aka Shamsher Raj Kapoor. He also had a sister whose name was Urmila Sial.He had two more younger brothers who had died in infancy.


Life & Times

At age eleven, he appeared in films for the first time, in the 1935 film Inquilab. After acting in several other films the next 12 years, Raj Kapoor's big break came with the lead role in Neel Kamal (1947) opposite Madhubala in her first role as a leading lady. 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 the 1948 film Aag which was also the first of his many films with actress Nargis. However the film failed to do well at the box office. In 1949 he once again starred alongside Nargis and Dilip Kumar in Mehboob Khan's classic blockbuster 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), AwaaraShree 420 (1955), Chori Chori (1956) and Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960). These films established his screen image as The Tramp modeled on Charlie Chaplin's most famous screen persona. In 1964 he produced, directed and starred in Sangam which was his first film in colour. This was his last major success as a leading actor. He moved onto directing and starring in his ambitious 1970 film, Mera Naam Joker (My name is Joker), which took more than six years to complete. When released in 1970, it was however a box office disaster putting him into a financial crisis. Despite this setback, Raj himself regarded this film as his favourite. (1951),

He bounced back in 1971 when he co-starred with his eldest son Randhir Kapoor in Randhir's acting and directorial debut Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971) which also starred Raj's father Prithviraj Kapoor as well as Randhir's wife to be Babita. From then on he acted in films as a character actor and focused on producing and directing films. He launched his second 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 he produced and directed films which focused on the female protagonists: Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) with Zeenat Aman, Prem Rog (1982) with Padmini Kolhapure and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) which introduced Mandakini.

Raj Kapoor's last major film appearance was in Vakil Babu (1982). His last acting role was a cameo appearance in a 1984 released British made-for-television film titled Kim.

Raj Kapoor suffered from asthma in his later years; he died of complications related to asthma in 1988 at the age of 63. At the time of his death, he was working on the movie Henna (an Indo -Pakistan based love story). The film was later completed by his son, Rishi Kapoor and released in 1991 which became a huge success at the Box Office. When he was given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award; where his brothers, Shashi Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor were also present; the crowd was clapping around when President Venkataraman, who saw Kapoor's discomfort, came down the stage to give the award to the legend in the middle of thundering claps where he was breathing his last breath. And he died shortly after.

RAj KAPOOR IN THE FILM "ANARI" sings
KISI KE MUSKARAHTOON PEY HOO FIDA