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Obituary: Rajiv, the larger than life Kapoor
Rajiv Kapoor will remain etched in memory as a bon vivant, large-hearted and generous member of the first family of Bollywood
I first interviewed the three Kapoor brothers – Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv – when I was paying a written tribute to their father Raj Kapoor, within days of his death... And then, last year, I wrote an obituary for Rishi and today I am penning one, with a heavy heart, for his younger brother Rajiv (Chimpu).
The first time I saw Rajiv was outside Minerva cinema for the premiere of his debut film Ek Jaan Hain Hum (1983). He was sitting in his car with a friend, the door left ajar, palpably nervous and excited, drinking beer to calm his nerves. It was the era of star progeny – there was Sanjay Dutt, Kumar Gaurav and Sunny Deol – and the 21-year-old debutant was expected to shoot to fame in the same comet-like manner.
Screen presence
His launch vehicle was fuelled by big guns. The film was produced by F C Mehra, a friend of Rajiv’s uncle, Shammi Kapoor. The second generation of Kapoors and Mehras – the two Rajivs, one an actor the other a director – became friends during their joint venture, Ek Jaan Hain Hum. Chimpu seemed to be following the template expected of star sons... even dating the heroine of his film Divya Rana in those days. However, their pairing on and off screen fizzled and so did Chimpu’s career.
His first film was breezy and Chimpu was full-of-beans as an actor, but his performance and looks seemed heavily-influenced by his uncle Shammi, whether by design or default, I am not sure. It didn’t work in his favour because Shammi was a tough act to follow. Chimpu made amends and forged his individuality a couple of years later with Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), directed by his father, Raj Kapoor.
Chimpu got a meaty role and a much-needed shot in the arm with this golden jubilee hit, though the film’s nubile heroine Mandakini stole some of his thunder, thanks to the famous sequence, where she stood underneath a waterfall in a sheer sari. Rajiv’s illustrious father, Raj Kapoor, had finally managed to bring out the best in his youngest son with Ram Teri, but, unfortunately, his subsequent death abbreviated any chances of further collaborations, which could have taken Chimpu’s career to the next level.
In the mid-1980s Chimpu was signed on by big banners such as Nasir Hussain (Zabardast, 1985), Tito-Tony (Aasmaan, 1984) and Saawan Kumar Tak (Preeti , 1986), but Lady Luck kept snubbing him at the box office.
Getting personal
My date for the premiere of Chimpu’s directorial debut under the RK banner Prem Granth (1996) was the feisty veteran actress Nadira. The venue was the FC Mehra-owned Minerva cinema again. Nadira introduced me to Chimpu as her son, and he touched her feet and asked for blessings after acknowledging me with a smile and a “thanks for coming”. If Prem Granth hadn’t gone awry in i
ts plot in the second half, Chimpu would’ve been enthused to direct more films for his home banner.
I met him a couple of times thereafter – once when I dropped in on the sets of Rishi Kapoor’s directorial venture Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) at RK studios, for which Chimpu was the producer. I witnessed first-hand how close the three brothers were and how they worked in tandem on their collective passion for filmmaking.
I bumped into Chimpu last some years back, when I was having dinner with my friend Santosh Sud and her filmmaker husband Guddu Dhanoa. Chimpu was sitting by himself at another table but the extroverted Kapoor couldn’t refuse Guddu’s invitation to join us. He was in high spirits and regaled us with his stories. Chimpu was no longer the lean youngster of Ram Teri Ganga Maili, but his smile and demeanour were intact. I understood why his sister-in-law Neetu Kapoor and he got along like a house on fire – his Kapoor charm was infectious.
And that’s how I would like to remember him... just as he was that evening – gregarious, large-hearted, bon vivant and a foodie!
Dinesh Raheja is a reputed film historian, columnist and TV scriptwriter who has been writing on cinema for over three decades
From HT Brunch, February 14, 2021
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