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India's most successful star kid gave ' ₹2000 cr film' at 27, was lauded at Cannes; not Ranbir Kapoor, Salman, Allu Arjun
Much before Ranbir Kapoor and Salman Khan broke box-office records, this son of a thespian was rewriting record books, and opening new markets for Bollywood.
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The term ‘nepo baby’ may be a modern Hollywood invention, but back home, India has used ‘star kids’ for the same group - children or relatives of people from the industry who have had a foot in the door. Many of these star kids have gone on to have successful careers, most before the term ‘nepotism’ was a buzzword on Reddit and Twitter. Examples of successful star kids exist in every language and across industries, but one of them surpassed even his illustrious father, and very early in his career.
India’s most successful star kid
In the 1920s, Prithviraj Kapoor began his career as an actor, working in plays in Lahore. In 1928, as he moved to Bombay, he moved into cinema acting. By the 30s, Prithviraj was considered one of the leading actors in Hindustani cinema. His younger brother, Trilok Kapoor, joined him in the profession with Char Dervesh in 1933, thus establishing the Kapoor family, a clan that continues to produce Bollywood actors even today. The first ‘star kid’ from the family entered films when Prithviraj’s eldest son, Raj Kapoor, appeared in the 1935 film Inquilab as a child actor. But he had to wait till 1946 to make his debut as a leading actor. Success came to him with Neel Kamal in 1947.
But it was his work in 1949 that shot him to stardom. All of 25, Raj Kapoor gave back-to-back hits in Andaz and Barsaat. The latter became the highest-grossing Indian film at the time, breaking Kismet’s record with a ₹2-crore haul. This helped Raj Kapoor establish himself as one of the three leading men in Bollywood, alongside Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand. The three would rule Hindi cinema in the 1950s and 60s.
Raj Kapoor’s ₹2000 crore film
If Barsaat’s success was astonishing, Raj Kapoor had more in store. In 1951, he starred in and directed Awara, a film with socialist and reformist themes. At 27, it was his third film as a director, and arguably most successful as well. Awara was an all-time blockbuster, running to packed houses in both India and the Soviet Union. It earned over ₹15 crore worldwide. If adjusted for inflation, that would amount to a gross of ₹2000 crore today, making Awara one of Hindi cinema’s most successful films to date. The film’s success helped Raj Kapoor establish himself as a big star in Russia. All his subsequent films were hits there.
Over the course of his career, Raj Kapoor earned critical acclaim alongside commercial success. Awara competed for the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Four years later, Boot Polish was also feted at the festival and vied for the Palme d'Or. Jagte Raho (1956) won the Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
How Raj Kapoor towers above other ‘star kids’
Over the years, several star kids have gone on to have successful careers, including Raj’s own son, Rishi Kapoor; brothers Shashi and Shammi Kapoor; and grandson Ranbir Kapoor. Salman Khan and Aamir Khan also come from film families. Among women, Nutan and Kajol were the top stars in their eras. Outside Bollywood, Nagarjuna, Allu Arjun, Prabhas, Jr NTR, Nandamuri Balakrishna, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Siva Rajkumar have all been at the top of their respective industries at some point or another. What sets Raj Kapoor apart is not just his success as an actor but also his influence as a director-producer.
As an actor, he worked in 63 films, giving 17 hits, including 5 blockbusters and 2 all-time blockbusters. He remains the only actor to star in two highest-grossing Indian films, back-to-back. His films like Awara and Jaagte Raho opened up a new market - Russia - for Indian cinema, and began the trend of focusing on overseas collections.
As a director, he had a near-perfect success rate, with 8 of his 10 directorials succeeding at the box office. With Sangam, he became the first Indian filmmaker to shoot overseas. In Mera Naam Joker, he introduced the largest international cast for an Indian film. He also introduced actors such as Nimmi, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, and Zeenat Aman to the industry. But perhaps his most telling contribution to Indian cinema is the marriage of social themes with blockbuster films, which he did time and again, from Awara to Ram Teri Ganga Maili.
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