Randhir Kapoor

Randhir Raj Kapoor (born 15 February 1947) is an Indian film actor, producer and director, who works in the Hindi film industry. He was an established actor of the 1970s and received two Filmfare Award nominations. However, his career declined in the early 1980s, following which he rarely appeared in films.

Randhir Raj Kapoor
Kapoor at an event in 2020
Born (1947-02-14) 14 February 1947[1]
Bombay, Bombay State, British India
(now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)
OccupationActor, producer, director
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1971)​
Children2 (Karisma and Kareena)
Parent(s)Krishna and Raj Kapoor
RelativesSee Kapoor family

Part of the Kapoor family, he is the son of actor–filmmaker Raj, grandson of actor Prithviraj and the brother of actor Rishi. After working as a child in Shree 420 (1955) and Do Ustad (1956), Kapoor made his acting and direction debut with a leading role in the family drama Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971), a box office success. Subsequently, Kapoor's starring roles in the dramas Jeet (1972), Hamrahi (1974) and the romantic comedies Jawani Diwani (1972), Lafange (1975), Ponga Pandit (1975), Bhala Manus (1976) and the multi-starrers such as Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972) and Haath Ki Safai (1974) established him as a leading actor of Hindi cinema.

His performance in the film Kasme Vaade (1978) earned him critical acclaim and a Best Supporting Actor nomination at Filmfare. He was appreciated for his performances in several successful films, including Bhanwar (1976), Khalifa (1976), Aaj Ka Mahaatma (1976), Chacha Bhatija (1977), Mama Bhanja (1977), Heeralaal Pannalal (1978), Chor Ke Ghar Chor (1978), Aakhri Daku (1978), Dhongee (1979), Biwi-O-Biwi (1981) and Humse Na Jeeta Koi (1981). Kapoor's career declined when the musicals romances Harjaee (1981) and Jaane Jaan (1983) became flops, and when his film Khazana (1987) got delayed in production. His career failed to propel forward after 1985, after which he quit acting for over a decade. However, the Kapoor-directed blockbuster romantic drama Henna (1991), proved to be the most commercially successful film of the decade – earning him a Filmfare Award for Best Director nomination and was chosen as the Indian submission to the Oscar. In recent years, Kapoor has occasionally returned to films with his biggest commercial success, the ensemble comedy Housefull (2010), and followed it with its sequel (2012), both of which earned over ₹1 billion (US$15 million) worldwide.

Kapoor is married to actress Babita since 1971, with whom he has two daughters, actresses Karisma and Kareena Kapoor. The couple separated in 1988, but reconciled in 2007, after living separately for several years.

Early years and background

Kapoor was born on 15 February 1947 in Karunakaran Maternity home, Matunga, Bombay, Bombay Presidency, India (now known as Mumbai, Maharashtra) to Punjabi parents. His family moved from Peshawar and Samundri (now in Pakistan) to Bombay, before the partition of India, for acting careers. He belongs to the famous Kapoor family who have been part of the Hindi film industry since the late 1920s.[2][3] He is the eldest son of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and his wife Krishna Kapoor. He has two brothers, actors Rajiv and late Rishi, and two sisters, Rima and late businesswoman Ritu. He is one of the grandsons of actor and producer Prithviraj Kapoor, and grandnephew of actor Trilok Kapoor. His paternal uncles, Shammi and Shashi Kapoor were both actors. Also, his maternal uncles, Prem Nath, Rajendra Nath and Narendra Nath and were all involved in Hindi cinema. Actors Prem Krishen and Kailash Nath, are his maternal cousins, while actors Aditya, Karan, Sanjana and Kunal are his paternal cousins. Actor Prem Chopra is his uncle-by-marriage (Krishna's sister Uma's husband). Actress-singer Salma Agha is his second cousin. His nephews include actors Ranbir Kapoor and Armaan Jain, and businessman Nikhil Nanda.

Career
Pictured in 1980: Signed photograph of Kapoor

Randhir first appeared as a child artist in Shree 420 (1955) and Do Ustad (1959). He became an assistant director with the film Jhuk Gaya Aasman (1968), starring Rajendra Kumar in 1968. Randhir Kapoor made his acting and directorial debut with Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971), which also starred his wife, father and grandfather. The film, produced under the R.K banner, was an average success.[4]

After his debut, he acted in three consecutive hit films, all released in 1972: Jeet, Raampur Ka Lakshman and Jawani Diwani.[5] Jawani Diwani was one of the biggest hits of that year. Raampur Ka Lakshman[5] costarred Shatrughan Sinha and Rekha, and was directed by Manmohan Desai, with music by R.D. Burman. Randhir and Babita were paired together in Jeet, after their marriage. Jeet was remake of the Tamil film En Annan starring M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa in the lead roles. After the success of Jeet, Randhir decided to do a remake of another film of MGR. Then MGR's hit 1971 film Rickshawkaran was remade in Hindi in 1973 with Randhir as the lead hero opposite the new heroine Neetu Singh, by director K. Shankar, but the film flopped though its music was popular. In 1974 he had 2 big hits – Hamrahi and the two-hero film Haath Ki Safai.

In 1975, he directed and starred alongside his father again in the critically acclaimed Dharam Karam, which was a box office disappointment. Over the years this film has developed a cult status and is considered a classic. Two of his other films, Lafange and Ponga Pandit, were hits that year. From 1976 to 1981, his multi-star films such as Chacha Bhatija (1977), Kasme Vaade (1978), (the latter of which earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination), Mama Bhanja, Heeralal Pannalal, Dhyanu Bhagat also known as Bhakti Mein Shakti and Biwi-O-Biwi: The Fun-Film, were hits too. After the failure of the 1981 Harjaee, he got few offers to star or co-star in films. His film Nikkamma, begun in 1976, finally released in 1983 as Janejaan, was also a dud. The song composed by R.D. Burman, and sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle – "Tere Bina Mein Kuch Bhi Nahin Hoon" from the delayed film Janejaan was popular in 1983. He starred in Sawaal and Pukar in 1983, and received critical praise for his performances, but they flopped nonetheless. In the same year, Humse Na Jeeta Koi received average collections. His last film as a leading actor was Khazana in 1987, after which he did not appear in a film for a decade.

Kapoor with his daughter Kareena, promoting her film 3 Idiots in 2009

In 1991, he directed and produced the blockbuster Henna (1991), that starred his younger brother, Rishi Kapoor and Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar. The film had started production in 1988 with his father Raj Kapoor directing, but after his death, Randhir took over as director of the film. Henna resulted in a trip to Pakistan, where he was treated royally by then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, a fan of his father Raj and his uncles Shammi and Shashi. He was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. The film was chosen as the Indian submissions for the Academy Award. In 1996, he produced PremGranth, the directorial debut of his younger brother Rajiv, and in 1999 he produced Aa Ab Laut Chalen, the directorial debut of his brother Rishi, which had Rajesh Khanna, Aishwarya Rai and Akshaye Khanna in the lead roles.

He was set to return to acting after a gap of 10 years with the 1997 film Ladies Only. This film was produced by Kamal Hasan and was remake of Magalir Mattum. The film also starred Shilpa Shirodkar, Seema Biswas, Heera Rajgopal and Kamal Hassan. Although completed, the film was never released.[6] In 1999, he made his comeback in the film Mother, alongside Rekha, Jeetendra and Rakesh Roshan. After another break, he appeared in the film Armaan (2003), in a supporting role as Preity Zinta's father. On 13 May 2007 he made an appearance on the television chat show Koffee with Karan alongside his brothers, sister Rima and his sister-in-law Neetu Singh. On the show, it was mentioned how Randhir had been Neetu's first leading man in the film Rickshawala (1973), which was not a success.

In 2010, he returned to films with supporting roles in Housefull and Action Replayy. In 2012, he appeared in the multi-starrer Housefull 2, the first film in which he acted along with his brother Rishi. He went onto appear in Ramaiya Vastavaiya in 2013 and Super Nani in 2014.

Personal life

Kapoor married actress Babita, the daughter of actor Hari Shivdasani, on 6 November 1971 when he was 24 after co-starring with her in Kal Aaj Aur Kal, as the couple fell in love during the shooting of this film.[7][8] Their two daughters, Karisma Kapoor, born in June 1974, and Kareena Kapoor, born in September 1980, are Indian film actresses. The couple separated in 1988 as differences arose between the couple as Randhir's acting career slumped after 1983 and Babita wanted her daughter Karisma to be an actress. Babita left Randhir with her daughters. Although against his daughters becoming involved in acting, he eventually came around the idea and is supportive of their careers. The two reconciled in October 2007, having never divorced but lived separately for 19 years.[9]

Filmography
YearFilmRoleNotes
1959 Do Ustad Young Jaggannath (as Master Daboo)
1971 Kal Aaj Aur Kal Rajesh Kapoor With Babita in his debut film[10]
1972 Raampur Ka Lakshman Lakshman
1972 Jeet Ratan/Ratanu
1972 Jawani Diwani Vijay Anand

As Actor

Producer

Director

References
  1. Jain, Madhu (2009). The Kapoors: The First Family of Indian Cinema (Revised ed.). Penguin Group India. ISBN 978-0-14306-589-0.
  2. "Bollywood's First Family". Excerpted from The Kapoors: The First Family of Indian Cinema by Madhu Jain, published by Penguin Books India. Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
  3. "Prithviraj Kapoor". Kapoor Family Page. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  4. Archived 8 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Archived 10 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Sunday rewind: Bollywood films that never released". Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  7. "Dabbo Kapoor". Junglee.org.in. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  8. "Complicated relationships!". The Times of India. 12 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  9. "Randhir-Babita back together!". The Times of India. 10 October 2007. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  10. "Kal Aaj Aur Kal will always be my favourite: Randhir Kapoor". Hindustan Times. 16 April 2016. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
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