The actor, who belongs to the fourth generation of the Kapoor film family, was speaking at a panel discussion after the release of the book ‘Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work’.
Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor on Tuesday said that he is interested in making a biographical feature film on the life of his grandfather and Hindi cinema legend Raj Kapoor.
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The actor, who belongs to the fourth generation of the iconic Kapoor film family, was speaking at a panel discussion after the release of the book ‘Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work’ in the capital.
Published by Bloomsbury India, the book is written by filmmaker Rahul Rawail, who worked as an assistant director to Raj Kapoor in films such as “Bobby”, as told to Pranika Sharma.
When asked what he would have told his grandfather if he were alive, Ranbir Kapoor said, “I would like to have a drink with him, just talk about life with him.” “I am very interested in making a biopic on his life. There are a lot of things that were probably off the record when Rahul uncle was working with him. I know Rahul uncle has many stories which he has not written in the book.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released the memoir on the occasion of the late filmmaker’s 97th birth anniversary at the Stein Auditorium of the India Habitat Center here.
Known as the showman of Hindi cinema, Raj Kapoor was an actor, director and producer, known for films such as “Aag”, “Shree 420”, “Mera Naam Joker”, “Ram Teri Ganga Maili”. . Awarded with Padma Bhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the legendary filmmaker passed away in 1988 at the age of 63.
Rawail, who was a friend of his mentor’s younger sons Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor, said that he would like to write another book in which he would talk about “the three sons of (Raj Kapoor).”
While Rishi Kapoor passed away in April 2020 after a two-year battle with cancer, Rajiv Kapoor died of a heart attack in February this year.
“I will be writing a book called ‘Kapoor and Sons’,” the director said in reference to Rishi Kapoor’s 2016 film of the same name.
Raj Kapoor’s elder son, veteran actor-director Randhir Kapoor, who was also present at the release of the book, said that cinema is the only thing that matters to his father.
“We didn’t really care for him. He only saw us grow,” he quipped.
Randhir Kapoor, who wrote the book’s foreword, said, “He ate, sang, drank, he did everything… just for the sake of cinema.”
Ranbir Kapoor said that growing up Raj Kapoor had many stories, usually they were stories of glory.
“Rahul uncle has given him his true colours. When you help someone at work, you get to know who that person was. Rahul uncle has presented his madness very well. The actor, who is in the capital on Wednesday to launch the motion poster of his upcoming film “Brahmastra”, also remembered his father, actor Rishi Kapoor, as a “tough but emotional” person.
“He was passionate about everything – his wife, his family, his food, his wine, his movies. He loved playing bridge on the computer while listening to old Hindi songs on the radio. Apart from all the values of cinema, me and mine The moral values that sister is really proud of are the ones she instilled in us. He was really a great father, we miss him a lot.” Randhir Kapoor said that when “Mera Naam Joker”, which his father directed, produced and portrayed, bombed at the box office and opened to poor reviews, the late director was so disappointed that he did not want to celebrate his birthday.
But today the film, about a clown who must make his audience laugh at the cost of his misery, is “the biggest vantage point in my organization”, he said.
“I make the most money from ‘Mera Naam Joker’, which is the first choice of each of my distributors,” he said.
Randhir Kapoor said the philosophical drama, which also starred Simi Garewal, Padmini and Russian actor Ksenia Ryabinkina, was probably ahead of its time.
Initially criticized for being extremely long at 248 minutes, “Mera Naam Joker” became a cult classic and is considered one of Raj Kapoor’s best films and one of the best Bollywood films of the 20th century. is believed.
“Maybe the film came out a little early. People say the picture was too long. It was a minute or two longer than ‘Sangam’. ‘Sangam’ might have been a huge success, I don’t think length was the problem. Didn’t understand the film. As the commercial aspect in films influences creativity today, Randhir Kapoor said “the Raj Kapoor era of films is over”.
“Today, people prefer to work in a film which gets completed in 13 days instead of 300 days. Like Rahul said that Raj Kapoor started shooting for ‘Bobby’ at 6.30 am and the day ended at 6.45 am. He didn’t count the money. I remember he painted the roofs of Gulmarg during the shooting of ‘Bobby’ because they were not looking good. That was personal cinema. ,
Ranbir Kapoor partly agreed with his uncle’s remarks, saying he used to hear stories that Raj Kapoor’s house was mortgaged and that his grandmother Krishna Kapoor’s jewelry was sold to complete a film.
Defending the new-age directors, he said, “It is not saying that the filmmakers of my generation are only following the commercial aspect… When I assisted Mr. (Sanjay Leela) Bhansali (on ‘Black’). So he actually treated me as an assistant director. I used to kneel for hours, he used to beat us, he used to abuse us…
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