January 27, 2008

BACK in the late 1920s, when undivided India was ruled by the British and the fight for a separate homeland was nowhere in sight, a young man born in Lyallpur (Faisalabad) and bred in Peshawar decided to give up his studies and embark on a train journey to Bombay to become an actor. That man, Prithviraj Kapoor, became one of the greatest actors and patriarch of the ‘first family’ of Indian cinema.

In his book The Kapoors: The first family of Indian cinema, writer Madhu Jain traces the family history of Prithviraj Kapoor with more emphasis on the great actor than his illustrious family. Just like there is no business like show business, there is no family in show business like the Kapoors. The author describes them as a family of professional actors and directors who have made immense contributions to films and film-making in India for almost a century.

The book also documents the fact that the monarch of the Kapoor dynasty left Peshawar for Mumbai with just Rs100 in his pocket and initially struggled as an actor on both stage and in films. But as luck would have it he founded the Prithvi Theatres, became a bankable actor and had a remarkable 50-year-long career spanning from the ’20s to the mid-’70s.

His three sons, Raj, Shammi and Shashi, who followed in their father’s footsteps were made to start their careers from scratch — from the the Prithvi Theatres — by the big man who never let any of his sons take advantage of his position. All three went on to become big names in Bollywood.

The eldest son, Raj Kapoor, is considered one of the best directors in the history of Indian cinema. Raj was the ultimate showman of the industry with his tramp-like appearance reminding people of Charlie Chaplin. The blue-eyed actor enthralled viewers till Mera Naam Joker in 1971. Raj later directed the film Awara, which not only featured his father Prithviraj but also his grandfather Bashesharnath Kapoor in a small role. Later, Raj’s son Randhir turned actor and director with Kal, Aaj Aur Kal in 1971, which featured Prithviraj as an outdated grandfather and Raj as a moderate father.

The exuberant and lively Shammi Kapoor has also been discussed in the book as one of the most diverse actors of the ’50s and ’60s. In the ’60s and ’70s the third son, Shashi, mesmerised audiences with his acting skills but after the death of his English wife, Jennifer Kendal, he semi-retired from films and made only sporadic appearance. Nonetheless he was the first Indian actor to go international, with roles in several English films notably Merchant Ivory productions such as Shakespeare Wallah, Bombay Talkie, Heat and Dust, Side Streets and Jamil Dehlvi’s Jinnah.

Jain’s book takes a peek behind the façade and tells us how Rishi Kapoor became a teenage heartthrob in the ’70s courtesy the hit film Bobby and why he was the only third-generation superstar from the Kapoor clan. It also uncovers the reasons for Rajiv Kapoor not making it big. Rajiv acted in nearly a dozen films in the ’80s but went unnoticed although he was the spitting image of a young Prithviraj and Shammi Kapoor. His only hit, Raam Teri Ganga Maili, was his father’s last flick as a director and he probably wouldn’t have been cast in the leading role had Rishi been a little younger.

Madhu Jain also includes the Kapoor daughters — Karisma and Kareena, the daughters of Randhir Kapoor — in her book as the two have carried the family name forward in the ’90s and beyond. With Rishi Kapoor’s son Ranbhir’s acting career recently launched with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest flick, the Kapoor family is set to dominate the Indian film industry for many years to come.

The Kapoors is a lengthy compilation and has its share of mistakes. Apart from some factual errors, the author’s excessive use of Hindi is a stumbling block for readers not familiar with the vocabulary. Only people who are familiar with Hindi or Urdu will be able understand words such as khandaan, others will simply move on after searching in vain for a glossary.

The book covers four generations of the family — or five, if you include Bashesharnath Kapoor. The author had access to several family members as well as to the Kapoor family archives with the help of which she has given her extraordinary insight into the clan, which through marriages and other relationships has been linked to several other leading Bollywood families including that of Amitabh Bachchan, Ramesh Sippy, Manmohan Desai and even Aishwariya Rai.

The rare photos ranging from the earlier days of Prithviraj and Raj Kapoor to personal ones featuring the young Rishi and Rajiv Kapoor with their grandfather help liven up the book.

In the Foreword, the author mentions that Shashi Kapoor’s advice to her when she started the project was to be honest. ‘I suppose that in some ways it was a carte blanche to look at the less flattering side of the Kapoors as well as their achievements. I hope I have been able to do justice to that.’ Fortunate for the reader, she has.
 

The Kapoors: The first family of Indian cinema
By Madhu Jain
VIKING, Penguin Group, India
ISBN 0670058378
400pp. Indian Rs595