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The incredible Kapoors
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As "The Kapoors" hits the stands, Anuj Kumar looks at the inside world of the first family of Indian cinema
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A PANORAMA The generations of Kapoors as seen on film posters, in real life and on the book's cover
About a year ago when Mughal-e-Azam was making a comeback to the theatres, Ramgopal Varma said, "Acting parameters have changed. Today when Akbar will shout , takhliya, people will literally move out of theatres." He was partially right for people did feel like moving out because of the genuine fear of Emperor Akbar. That's the power of acting that lengthened historical facts, making people believe that Akbar didn't reside in a five feet frame but in the towering persona of Prithviraj Kapoor.
Cut to 2005, Pyar Mein Twist made a hasty exit from theatres but Rishi Kapoor still forced critics to dance to his trademark twist. His "Khullam Khulla Pyar Karenge" act has all a student of cinema wants to know about how a soft and later pot-bellied fellow survived the decades of angry young men.
Dream merchants
There is something about Kapoors that made them rule the country's imagination for about 75 years. For some, they are dream merchants and for others, "they are a cause for wet dreams," as seasoned journalist Madhu Jain puts it. Madhu has just tried to unravel the Kapoor mystery - Prithvi to Kareena through "The Kapoors - The First Family of Indian Cinema". Compared with the Redgraves and Barrymores, Madhu says while you can count Redgraves on your hands, for Kapoors, you need two sets of fingers. "The only dynasty comparable to Kapoors in this respect is a political one - Kennedys."
Released by Penguin, the book captures the making and unmaking of the Kapoor dynasty - the socialist frame of Prithvi and Raj Kapoor, the unheard capitalist leanings of Shammi and the nuanced Shashi Kapoor, whom Madhu describes as the perfect gentleman. Madhu goes into the daily life of the Hindu Pathan family, the male bonding, their love for good things in life and their weakness for food, wine and of course, women. She brings out how an early and easy opening helped Rishi and how Rajeev had to bear the Kapoor cross. How blonde hair and blue eyes could not work for Kunal and Sanjana but worked for Karisma. Even some secrets as how Indira Gandhi looked for a bahu in Raj Kapoor's daughter. How Prithvi shared with his son the art of kissing or rather not kissing on screen.
Shashi says it was easy for him to make it to films because his brothers were already there. "Had Rajji opted for merchant navy and Shammiji had become an engineer as they initially wanted to, the road would have been difficult for me." Still both Shammi and Shashi took five years to deliver their first hits.
Quite unlike Rishi. Still he observes he had to carry the Kapoor baggage initially. "Everybody used to compare me to my uncle Shashi. Personally, looking like your uncle or father feels good but professionally, it becomes a handicap. I soon realised it is just hard work and an individual identity that can see me through." Both say lady luck plays an important role in the industry. And Madhu believes, "It wasn't just their fair looks.Raj Kapoor's blue eyes had the ability to make any woman he spoke to believe she was very special for him. Shammi Kapoor's green bedroom eyes and cocky persona were equally seductive. Shashi Kapoor was immoderately handsome and quite the prince charming with his crooked canine teeth and disarming smile."
Shashi still delivers the vestiges of that charm with panache. After the release at the India Habitat Centre on a chilly evening, he continued to sign autographs on books, notepads and slips with long messages long after Rishi had left for the cosy environs of the hotel. However, Madhu adds, the Kapoor men can't do without their wives despite their wandering eyes. "The Kapoors need strong women, women whose mission is to take care of them," is how Shashi puts it in the book. "While my brothers worked seven days a week, I never worked on Sundays and had two vacations a year just because of Jennifer."
Fat in genes!
And food? "I tried hard to control his diet, but every time he would say it's genetic. I used to argue being fat can't be genetic but he won't listen," says Neetu Singh. Shashi says it is the making of the media that the Kapoors don't allow their women to work. "Geeta (Bali) bhabhi (Shammi Kapoor's first wife) worked after marriage and so did Babita." Karisma and Kareena have kept the Kapoors on the credits but the designer romances have taken away the RK shine. "Rajji made films from the heart. He was not a clever filmmaker like Satyajit Ray but his films had an earthy feel, which is missing these days. There is no certain formula for box office success but his magic worked most of the times.Even Mera Naam Joker proved successful after a few years of its release," points out Shashi. "It is for his sons to carry the baton forward." Rishi refuses to commit anything, but with Shammi's son Aditya already on course to direct a film, and Rishi's son Ranbir waiting in the wings, the Kapoor juggernaut continues to roll.
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