When Raj Kapoor fans in Moscow lifted his taxi on their shoulders

Raj Kapoor had a stellar fan following. One time, when he visited Moscow, his fans there lifted the car in which he was traveling.

Actor Raj Kapoor died on June 2, 1988 after experiencing acute asthma attack. On his 34th death anniversary, let's recall the time when his fans lifted a taxi, in which he was traveling, on their shoulders. Raj's son Rishi Kapoor shared a few anecdotes from Raj's life during an event six years ago.

Raj Kapoor died on June 2, 1988.

In 2016, while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 1st BRICS Film Festival, Rishi got nostalgic and shared stories from Raj's life. He said, “Raj Kapoor was making Mera Naam Joker and I think it was in the mid-1960s when he was negotiating with a Russian circus to be part of the film. He was in London and certainly he had to be in Moscow, Russia — which was then Soviet Union. But he didn’t have visa to come into Moscow. Still they welcomed him. There was no welcome committee for him because he landed unannounced. So he got outside and waited for a taxi. By then people started recognising that Raj Kapoor is in Moscow. His taxi came and he sat in. Suddenly what he saw was that the taxi is not moving forward and instead is going up. The people took the car on their shoulders."

Sharing another anecdote from Raj's life, Rishi said, “Much later in mid-1980s, we didn’t really have great ties with China. So China requested the Indian government that they want Raj Kapoor to travel there. When the ministry spoke to Raj Kapoor, he got excited like a young boy. He was very fond of Chinese food. He told my mother, Krishna Kapoor, that I am going to China and you are coming with me. After five or 10 days, he became a little glum. He said to my mother that, ‘No, I will not go to China’. When she asked why, he said that the people of China have watched that Raj Kapoor of the 1950s — the young and handsome guy. Today I have become old and become fat, so I don’t want to break their heart with this look. He never went to China afterwards."

Raj delivered some of the most iconic films in the history of Hindi cinema. These include Shree 420, Awaara, Sangam, Bobby and Satyam Shivam Sundaram, to name a few.

One of his biggest passion projects was Mera Naam Joker, which was released in 1970. The film was directed, edited and produced by Raj under his banner RK Films. Mera Naam Joker also starred actors Simi Garewal, Rishi Kapoor, Kseniya Ryabinkina, Padmini.