Randhir Kapoor

Randhir Kapoor
Kapoor at the premiere of 3 Idiots (2009)
Born	(1947-02-15) 15 February 1947 Chembur, Bombay, India
Occupation	Actor, producer, director
Spouse(s)	Babita Shivdasani (m. 1971)
Children	Karisma and Kareena
Parent(s)	Krishna and Raj Kapoor
Relatives	See Kapoor family

Randhir Kapoor (born 15 February 1947) is an Indian film actor, producer and director, who works in the Hindi film industry. Part of the Kapoor family, he is the son of actor and filmmaker Raj, grandson of actor Prithviraj and the brother of actor Rishi. After working as a child artist in several films, Kapoor made his acting and direction debut with a leading role in the romantic drama Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971), a moderate box-office success. Subsequently, Kapoor's starring roles in the dramas Jeet (1972) and Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972), and the erotic thriller Jawani Diwani (1972), and the romantic comedies Hamrahi (1974), Haath Ki Safai (1974), Lafange (1975) and Ponga Pandit (1975), established him as a leading actor of Hindi cinema. Kapoor's career declined in the mid 80s, and failed to propel his career. However, Kapoor's directed-blockbuster tragic romance Henna (1991), proved to be the most commercially successful film of the decade, and was chosen as the Indian submission to the Oscar. His biggest commercial success came with the two-part comedy film series Housefull (2010– 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 1998, but reconciled in 2007, after living separately for several years.

Early years and background

Kapoor was born on 15 February 1947 in Chembur, Bombay, Bombay Presidency, India (now known as Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) to Punjabi parents. He is an alumnus of Colonel Brown Cambridge School, Dehradun. He belongs to the famous Kapoor family who have been part of the Hindi film industry since the late 1920s.^[1][2] He is the eldest son of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and his wife Krishna Kapoor. He has two brothers, actors, Rishi and Rajiv, and two sisters, Rima and 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. While, his maternal uncles, Narendra, Prem Nath and Rajendra were all involved in Hindi cinema. Actor Prem Krishen, is his maternal cousin, while actors Aditya, Karan, Sanjana and Kunal are his paternal cousins. His nephew's includes, actors Ranbir Kapoor and Armaan Jain, and businessman Nikhil Nanda.

Career

Signed photograph of Randhir Kapoor

Randhir first appeared as a child artist in Shree 420 (1955) and Do Ustad (1959). He became assistant director with the film Jhuk Gaya Aasman 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.^[3]

After his debut, he acted in three consecutive hit films, all released in 1972: Jeet, Raampur Ka Lakshman and Jawani Diwani.^[4] Jawani Deewani was one of the biggest hits of that year. 'Raampur Ka Lakshman',^[4] costarred Shatrughan Sinha and Rekha, and was directed by Manmohan Desai, with music by R.D. Burman. After which remake of MGR’s hit 1971 film Rickshawkaran was made in Hindi in 1973 with Randhir as the lead hero opposite new heroine Neetu Singh 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 as hits but Dil Diwana failed to be a hit at the box-office, in spite of its music being better than its predecessor Jawani Deewani. In 1975, two of his films, Lafange and Ponga Pandit, were hits, but his other two movies, Dafa 302 and Dharam Karam, were box-office failures. From 1976 till 1981, Randhir had solo hero hit films like – Khalifa, Aaj Ka Mahaatma, Bhanwar, Bhala Manus, Ram Bharose, Dhongee and his multi-star films like Chacha Bhatija (1977), Kasme Vaade (1978), the later of which earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination, Mama Bhanja, Heeralal Pannalal, Dhyanu Bhagat also known as Bhakti Mein Shakti, Chor Ke Ghar Chor, 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, was finally released in 1983 as Jaan-e-Jaan, 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 performance, but they flopped nonetheless. In the same year, Humse Na Jeeta Koi received average collections.

Kapoor at the IIFA Rock Fashion Show in 2012

In 1991, he directed and produced the blockbuster Henna (1991), that starred his younger brother, Rishi Kapoor and Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar. Henna resulted in a trip to Pakistan, where he was treated royally by then-president 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 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.

In 1999 he played a guest appearance in the film Mother alongside Rekha and Jeetendra and Rakesh Roshan. After another break he appeared in the film Armaan (2003). On 13 May 2007 he made an appearance on the television chat show Koffee with Karan with his brothers and sister Rima and his sister-in-law Neetu Singh appeared. 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 roles in Housefull and Action Replayy. In 2012 he appeared in the multi-starrer Housefull 2, the first film in which he acts along with his brother Rishi.

Personal life

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

Randhir married actress Babita, the daughter of actor Hari Shivdasani, on 6 November 1971 when he was just 24 after co-starring with her in Kal Aaj Aur Kal, as the couple fell in love during the shooting of this film.^[5][6] 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 Karishma 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.^[7]

Filmography

As Actor

Producer

• Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999)
• PremGranth (1996)
• Henna (1991)

Director

• Henna (1991)
• Dharam Karam (1975)
• Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971)

References

External links

• Randhir Kapoor at the Internet Movie Database