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The days of the Raj
ANUJ KUMAR
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As the next generation of the Kapoor clan makes a mark on the silver screen with “Saawariya”, Ritu Nanda speaks on the best of them all: Raj Kapoor.
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Raj Kapoor was the first filmmaker to question whether blood determines one’s vocation in “Awara” where a judge’s son becomes a vagabond
Photo: A Roy Chowdhury
Flipping through legacy Raj Kapoor’s daughter Ritu Nanda avers it’s the years of research that made her understand her father.
As the fourth generation of the Kapoor clan takes centre stage this Diwali with Ranbir Kapoor making his debut with Saawariya, Ritu Nanda has penned a tribute to the most popular Kapoor of them all. Yes, we are talking about Raj Ka
poor, who continues to fascinate with his films and life some two decades after his death. “Out of 96 years of history of Hindi cinema, the Kapoors have been there for some 80 years. It is the only family in the world which has given four generations to films,” says Ritu, the second child of Raj.
Ritu avers it’s the years of research that made her understand her father. She has used his interviews, writings and speeches and has written the book from his side. “I was working on the book since 1989. What helped me was the meticulous approach of my father. In R.K Studios, the clock of ‘Awara’ is still intact, so is the lantern of ‘Jis Desh Main Ganga Behti Hai’and the dafli of ‘Shree 420’.” In 1990, on the basis of the research, a book was published in Russian. Then in 2002, Penguin published a book “Raj Kapoor Speaks”. Now, R.K. Films has come out with this Hindi edition simply called ‘Raj Kapoor’ for the masses.”
Socialist appeal
Indeed, mass was the world that appealed to the showman. His socialist ideas, which Ritu says he inherited from his father Prithviraj Kapoor, reflected in his films all along. He was the first one to question that blood doesn’t determine the vocation in “Awara” where a judge’s son becomes a vagabond. Similarly, “Jis Desh Main Ganga Behti Hai”, inspired by Vinoba Bhave’s movement, talked of dacoit surrender when Chambal was infested with dacoit menace. “He was the man of the masses. He never thought of film as an intellectual medium. His heart felt the pain of the deprived and he had mastered the art of alleviating their pain by weaving his serious message around light-hearted plots and brilliant music. I don’t know whether he was a better director or actor but one thing is sure he was a great human being.”
However, critics feel that the box office failure of “Mera Naam Joker”, made Raj turn to escapist cinema with “Bobby”. “‘Mera Naam Joker’ was very close to his heart. And its failure at that time was a big setback. Interestingly, today it’s considered as one of the classics. However, as he always said, the show must go on. He tried to adapt to the change and accepted the failure as a challenge. He had cast two newcomers for ‘Bobby’ – I remember he asked Rishi and Dimple: would you like to work with a flop filmmaker – and came up with a teenage love story, which was a first for Hindi cinema and changed the trend for the years to come. Till then actors in their 30s, used to play school and college going characters.”
On the portrayal of female characters in his films, Ritu agrees that he brought forth the sensuous side of beauty. “At the same time he treated his female characters with sensitivity and was a great supporter of female emancipation.” She points out the way he followed a “Bobby” with “Prem Rog”, which talks of widow marriage.
Ritu gives due credit to Nargis for the success of some of the initial films of Raj Kapoor. “She was an amazingly talented actress and the duo spelled magic on the big screen.” On the turbulence that the relationship created in the family, Ritu is a little vague. “Had it created a problem Nargis leaning on Raj Kapoor’s arm would not have been the credo of R.K. Films. Sometimes professional comes too close to personal. My father’s first love was films, family came second. He was too absorbed in his work to think about what the media was writing. Similarly a heroine wants to bring as much reality to the character as the director has envisioned because she knows he is the man who is creating all the glory around her.”
Raj on Karisma
Ritu denies Raj was against Karisma Kapoor’s entry into films. “On the contrary, he would have been very happy had he seen the success of Karisma and now Kareena. It is baseless to believe that the Kapoors are against their bahus and daughters working in films. Both Geetaji (Geeta Bali, wife of Shammi Kapoor and Jenniferji (Jennifer wife of Shashi Kapoor) worked after marriage.”
The love for rich food is also what defines the Kapoors. “We come from a family which believes quality of food should reflect from the figure. However, it is changing. See Kareena and now Ranbir. They are conscious of every calorie they take.”
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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