Raj Kapoor "The showman of Hindi Cinema" is remembered by one and all on his 87th birth anniversary today.
 He was a multitalented artist who who was an actor, producer and director.

Raj Kapoor was born on December 14, 1924 in a town called Samandru in Peshawar (now in Pakistan). Raj Kapoor' s father Prithviraj Kapoor himself was a well-known actor. Raj Kapoor was the eldest of the four children. His other two brothers  the late Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor also are well-known actors.

 In 1935, at the age of eleven, Raj Kapoor appeared in his first film 'Inquilab'.  Raj Kapoor was married to Krishna Malhotra and they had 5 children together. Raj Kapoor's big break came in 1947, when he played leading role in the film 'Neel Kamal', directed by Kidar Sharma. In 1948, at the age of twenty-four, Raj Kapoor established his own studio, R. K. Films, and became the youngest film director of his time. His first movie as a director was 'Aag' (Fire). The film was an instant success.

Thereafter, Raj Kapoor started directing films and acted in most of them as well. Some of the famous films directed by Raj Kapoor are 'Barsaat' (1949), 'Awaara' (1951), 'Shri 420' (1955), and 'Sangam' (1964). He had an amazing onscreen chemistry with the late actress nargis. Raj Kapoor is well known for depicting the story of common man and his woes in his films . This is the main reason for his films appealed to every section of the society. Raj Kapoor had great sense of music and the music of his films was very popular not only in India but in countries like Russia too. Film historians have characterized Raj Kapoor as the "Charlie Chaplin of India," since he often himself played a tramp-like figure who, despite adversity, could still be cheerful and honest.

After the commercial failure of his ambitious film 'Mera Naam Joker' in 1970, Raj Kapoor's films took a turn toward sensuality. In 1973, Raj Kapoor released 'Bobby', which started the trend of teenage romance in Indian cinema. He  pushed the boundaries of sensuality in his other films like 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram' (1978) and 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili' (1985). Raj Kapoor's films always advocated a strong social message and portrayed women protaganists fighting for their rights. For example, his film 'Premrog' (1982) advocated widow remarriage.

 Raj Kapoor was honored with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1987 for his immense contribution to the Indian film industry. He died on June 2, 1988 due to asthma related complications. At the time of his death he was working on the film 'Henna', which was a romance drama based on the love story of an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl .The film was later completed by his son Randhir Kapoor and was a major commercial success.


FridayMoviez remembers The Showman of Hindi Film Cinema- Raj Kapoor