Shekhar Kapur

Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapoor (born 6 December 1945)[1]is an Indian film director, actor, and film producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema[2] and international cinema. Part of the Anand family, Kapur became known in Bollywood with his recurring role in the TV series Khandan in the mid-1980s and his directorial debut in the cult Bollywood film Masoom in 1983, which won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie for that year,[3] before gaining widespread success with the science fiction film Mr. India (1987).

Shekhar Kapur
Kapur in 2008
Born
Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapoor

(1945-12-06) 6 December 1945
Lahore, Punjab, British India
(present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
NationalityIndian
Occupation
  • Film director
  • actor
  • film producer
Spouse(s)
Medha Gujral
​
​
(m. 1984; div. 1994)​

​
​
(m. 1999; div. 2007)​
Children1
Websiteshekharkapur.com

He gained international recognition with the 1994 Bollywood film Bandit Queen, based on Mala Sen's biography of infamous Indian bandit and politician Phoolan Devi, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and Filmfare Critics Awards for Best Movie and Best Direction for that year. It was premiered in the Directors Fortnight section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival.[4][5]

In international cinema, his historical biopics on Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), have earned him acclaim, with the former winning the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film and both winning an Academy Award.[6][7][8]

Kapur has also been the recipient of a National Board of Review Award, as well as an Indian National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. In 2010, he served as one of the Jury Members (International Competition) at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.[5][9]

In 2020, Kapur became the current president of the Film and Television Institute of India.[10]

Early life

Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapoor was born on 6 December 1945 in Lahore, Punjab, British India to Kulbhushan Kapoor, a doctor with a flourishing practice, and his wife Sheel Kanta Kapoor.[1] On a train from the newly created Pakistan to India, a massacre took place; Kapur's mother Sheel played dead and hid both himself and his sister under her body.[11] Reflecting on this, Kapur stated that the partition of India happened through "the blood of one people".[11]

The nephew of famous Indian actor Dev Anand, he was discouraged from getting into films by his father.[12] Sheel Kanta was the sister of actors Chetan, Dev and Vijay Anand. Kapur is the only son of his parents and he has three sisters. One of his sisters, Neelu, was the first wife of actor Navin Nischol, while another sister, Aruna, is the wife of actor Parikshit Sahni. His third and youngest sister is Sohaila Kapoor.

Kapur attended Modern School of New Delhi.[13] He studied economics at St. Stephen's College. At 22, he became a Chartered Accountant with the ICAEW in England, having studied accountancy at the behest of his parents.[14][15]

Kapur started his career working with a multinational oil company. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1970, and spent several years working as an accountant and management consultant.[16]

Personal life

He was married to Medha Gujral, niece of former Indian Prime Minister I. K. Gujral. They split in 1994. Medha later married popular bhajan singer Anup Jalota (she was his third wife). She died on 25 November 2014 at a hospital in New York City of liver failure following a second heart and first kidney transplant.[17][18][19]

Kapur then married Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, an Indian actress, writer, painter and singer in 1997. They are divorced. They have a daughter named Kaveri Kapur.

Career

In India

Kapur started his career as an actor in the movie Jaan Hazir Hai (1975)[20] and later in Toote Khilone, in Bollywood. He appeared in several Hindi television dramas, such as Udaan (Doordarshan), opposite Kavita Chaudhary, Upanyaas[21] (Doordarshan) opposite Nisha Singh, and Masoom opposite Neena Gupta.

He turned director with the family drama Masoom (1983), starring Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and a young Jugal Hansraj & Urmila Matondkar. The plot followed the story of an illegitimate boy who struggles to find acceptance from his stepmother. He then directed the 1987 science-fiction film Mr. India, starring Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Amrish Puri in his most famous role as the villain Mogambo. Puri's most famous dialogue in this film "Mogambo Khush Hua" is still remembered.[22] In 1994 he directed the critically acclaimed Bandit Queen[23] and played a cameo in the film as a truck driver.

Kapur was infamous for abandoning several films he was originally the director of.[24] He was originally the director of the 1989 film Joshilaay, which starred Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Meenakshi Sheshadri before leaving the production halfway, and its producer Sibti Hassan Rizvi stepped in to complete the film. In 1992, he had shot some scenes for Barsaat, which was originally titled Champion[25] and was going to be the debut film of Bobby Deol, but he left the production and was replaced by Rajkumar Santoshi. In 1992, he was set to direct the science-fiction film titled Time Machine, which was to star Aamir Khan, Raveena Tandon, Naseeruddin Shah and Rekha, but he abandoned the project halfway through due to financial problems. The film was left incomplete, although there were talks many years later that Kapur would revive the project with a new cast, which never happened.[26][27] In 1995, he partly directed Dushmani, starring Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff and Manisha Koirala before its producer Bunty Soorma stepped in to complete the film.[28]

In an unusual role for him, Kapur provided the voice of Mohandas Gandhi in the Charkha Audiobooks title of The Story of My Experiments with Truth, alongside Nandita Das as narrator.

In 2013, Kapur hosted the TV show Pradhanmantri on ABP News. On the show, which aims to bring never-seen-before facets of Indian history, he was the narrator.[29]

He served as judge on the reality TV series India's Got Talent, aired on Colors.

In 2016, Kapur delivers an autobiographical film and documentary about Amma, well known as Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, called "The Science of Compassion".[30]

International

In 1998, he received international recognition for the second time after Bandit Queen, when he directed the Academy Award-winning period film Elizabeth, a fictional account of the reign of British Queen Elizabeth I nominated for seven Oscars. The 2007 sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, was nominated for two Oscars. He was accused of being anti-British by British tabloids for his portrayal of the British Army in the 2002 movie The Four Feathers. However, he denied the accusations and stated that he was merely "anti-colonisation".[31]

Kapur was the executive producer of the film The Guru. He established an Indian film company with Ram Gopal Verma and Mani Ratnam, though the group has thus far produced only one film, Dil Se.. (1998), starring Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. Kapur executive-produced the Bollywood-themed musical Bombay Dreams by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which has been running in London's the West End since 2002 and on Broadway in New York City since 2004.

In 2005, Kapur worked with Okan Quail on Hunji!, a story of a young Indian maid who idolised Sachin Tendulkar. Although it gained some acclaim as one of his finest films, critics across the UK and India called it a flop.

In 2006, Kapur formed Liquid Comics and Virgin Animation, an entertainment company focused on creating new stories and characters for a global audience. The Shakti titles of Kapur and Deepak Chopra's company debuted with Devi and The Sadhu.[32] Devi is about "a fierce feminine warrior, stronger than the Gods themselves ... a champion of the heavens, and the protector of man", while The Sadhu is about one man's choice between his spiritual oath and his human instinct."[32] He was a member of the jury at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in May 2010.[33]

He has announced that he will direct Little Dragon, an authorized biopic of martial arts legend Bruce Lee.[34]

Future projects

A third episode in the Queen Elizabeth series, Elizabeth: The Dark Age, is planned.[35] According to screenwriter John Rogers, the success of Elizabeth led to Kapur being tapped to work on an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, but the project was eventually shelved.[36] Kapur tentatively planned to helm a motion picture account of the life of the Buddha, titled Buddha, but the plans were dropped for unstated reasons. He planned to adapt Larklight, a book by Philip Reeve. Kapur traveled to Yerevan, Armenia to explore the possibility of making a film about the Armenian Genocide.

In an interview with Associated Content, Kapur announced he is no longer attached to Larklight.

He is set to direct Paani. The film was reported to star Sushant Singh Rajput produced by Aditya Chopra.[37] Its music will be composed by A. R. Rahman.[38] The announcement was made at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in 2010. Paani has since been shelved. [39]

One of his shelved projects was a film tentatively titled The Nine o'Clock War, which he had planned with his longtime friend and previous collaborator, the Australian actor Heath Ledger in the role of a popular television news anchor. It never happened, as a result of the actor's unexpected death in 2008.

Kapur is set to write and direct a series titled Cleopatra, about the famous queen Cleopatra of ancient Egypt, being developed by David Ellender's Slingshot Global Media. This project has now been shelved. [40]

It was announced in March of 2019 that Kapur will be directing a TV series for Endemol Shine based on historical novels by Amitav Ghosh, known as the "Ibis Trilogy", which details the opium wars among Britain, India and China in mid-19th century. [41][42]

Awards
Civilian honor
British Academy Film Awards
Golden Globe Awards
National Board of Review Awards
National Film Awards
Filmfare Awards


Awards received by Shekhar Kapur's films
Year Film Academy Awards BAFTA Awards Golden Globe Awards
Nominations Wins Nominations Wins Nominations Wins
1998 Elizabeth 7 1 12 5 3 1
2007 Elizabeth: The Golden Age 2 1 4 1
Total 9 2 16 5 4 1
Directed Academy Award Performances
Year Performer Film Result
Academy Award for Best Actress
1999 Cate Blanchett Elizabeth Nominated
2008 Elizabeth: The Golden Age Nominated

Filmography
Director
YearTitle
1983Masoom
1987Mr. India
1989Joshilaay
1994Bandit Queen
1998Elizabeth
2002The Four Feathers
2007Elizabeth: The Golden Age
2008New York, I Love You
2009Passage
TBAWhat's Love Got to Do With It?
Actor
YearTitleRoleNotes
1974 Ishq Ishq Ishq
1975 Jaan Hazir Hai
1978 Toote Khilone
1979 Jeena Yahan
1980 Khanjar Ramesh
1984 Bindiya Chamkegi Raj A. Kumar
1988 Falak (The Sky) Inspector Jimmy
1989–1991 Udaan
1989 Gawaahi
1990 Drishti Nikhil
1991 Nazar Antique Dealer/Money Lender
1992 Saatwan Aasman Dev
2013 Vishwaroopam R.A.W Agent Colonel Jagannath Tamil film
2013 Vishwaroop Hindi
2016 Teraa Surroor As Rajeev Kaul - Indian ambassador
2018 Vishwaroopam II R.A.W Agent Colonel Jagannath Tamil film
2018 Vishwaroop II Hindi
Producer
YearTitleNotes
1998 Dil Se.. executive producer
2002 The Guru executive producer
2011 Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told documentary

References
  1. "Shekhar Kapur: A life in focus". The Times of India. 16 March 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  2. "John Travolta likely to star in Shekhar Kapoor's Paani". The Hindu. Press Trust of India.
  3. "Shekhar Kapur: My uncle Dev Anand, the man no one knew..." NDTVMovies.com.
  4. "Anurag Kashyap: 'The perception of India cinema is changing'". Digital Spy.
  5. "Shekhar Kapur, exclusive interview". Festival de Cannes.
  6. "Film in 1999". BAFTA. 11 April 1999.
  7. "71st Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 21 March 1999.
  8. "80th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 24 February 2008.
  9. "'Harry Potter' Star Emma Watson to Make Bollywood Debut with Shekhar Kapur's 'Paani'?". International Business Times. 14 May 2014.
  10. "Shekhar Kapur appointed FTII president". 30 September 2020.
  11. "When Shekhar Kapur's mother played dead to save his life during partition". Hindustan Times. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  12. "Shekhar Kapur". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  13. "Shekhar Kapur becomes a name to reckon with in Western cinema". The Indian Express. 16 March 2000. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  14. Wild, Damian (5 October 2003). "Shehkar Kapur: Reeling in the punters". Accountancy Age. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  15. Kapoor, Shekhar. "My uncle Dev Anand, the man no one knew…". Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  16. "Sorry". The Indian Express. India. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  17. "How Anup Jalota became third-time lucky". www.telegraphindia.com.
  18. "Anup Jalota's wife passes away".
  19. "Sad demise". 5 December 2014.
  20. Bhawana Somaaya (6 December 2002). "Screen > The Business of Entertainment". Screenindia.com. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  21. "Doordarshan running out of programmes". Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  22. Koimoi.com Team (22 June 2010). "A Tribute To Amrish 'Mogambo' Puri". Koimoi.com. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  23. Roy, Amit (26 July 2001). "The dacoit leader who wore a tiger skin sari". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  24. "Will Shekhar Kapur make another film?". 11 March 2013.
  25. "The Hindu : In fearless pursuit..." www.thehindu.com.
  26. "Time Machine Rushes – Aamir Khan, Raveena Tandon, Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah, Shekhar Kapur". YouTube. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  27. Vajir Singh (1 February 2008). "Shekhar Kapur to revive Time Machine". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  28. "Shekhar Kapur moves out after Bandit Queen". filmnirvana.com. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  29. "Pradhanmantri". abpnews.in. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  30. "The Science of Compassion (Video available on YouTube)". Shekhar Kapur. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  31. Rajat Ghai (2 November 2012). "Shekhar Kapur: "Film on Armenian genocide will be challenging"". Hetq. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  32. How Deepak Chopra's Virgin Comics is changing comic book industry.
  33. Leffler, Rebecca (15 April 2010). "Hollywood Reporter: Cannes Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  34. Frater, Patrick (8 May 2017). "Shekhar Kapur to Direct Authorized Bruce Lee Biopic 'Little Dragon'".
  35. Ramachandran, Naman (7 December 2017). "IFFAM: Shekhar Kapur Talks 'Little Dragon,' 'Elizabeth: The Dark Age'". Variety. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  36. "Kung Fu Monkey: Futurism vs. Futuruisn't". Kfmonkey.blogspot.com. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  37. "Rahman scores of Paani". Behindwoods. 11 October 2010.
  38. John (16 May 2010). "Shekhar Kapoor Hires A R Rahman for Paani". Taking Films.
  39. "Paani in Cannes". Sworovski. 15 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  40. Petski, Denise (18 August 2015). "'Cleopatra' Series In The Works At Slingshot Global Media". deadline.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  41. "Shekhar Kapur to direct drama on Amitav Ghosh's 'The Ibis Trilogy'". The Week. 26 March 2019.
  42. Press Trust of India (25 March 2019). "Shekhar Kapur to direct drama on Amitav Ghosh's 'The Ibis Trilogy'". Business Standard.
  43. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  44. "National Board of Review of Motion Pictures :: Awards". Nbrmp.org. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.

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