Prithviraj Kapoor

Prithviraj Kapoor was one of the greatest actors of hindi films ( also most handsome actor of pre-independent india ) and is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and founder of the Prithvi Theatres in 1944 .He was the patriarch ( महापिता , मुखिया) of the great Kapoor family of Hindi films, four generations of which, beginning with him, have played active roles in the Hindi film industry, with the youngest generation still active in Bollywood .He was born in a punjabi hindu family on 3 November 1906 in Samundri near Lyallpur , west Punjab ( now in pakistan) . His father, Basheshwarnath Kapoor, was a police officer and grandfather, Dewan Keshavmal Kapoor was a Tehsildar ( Registrar of land and property) . Prithviraj was the eldest of eight siblings , five brothers and three sisters . Kapoor’s childhood was largely spent in Lyallpur with his grandparents .Later, his father was transferred to Peshawar and soon the family shifted there . Kapoor studied initially at Lyallpur Khalsa College and later at Edwardes College in Peshawar, where he did B.A. and then in 1928 shifted to bombay and started his film career with silent movies in minor roles . After featuring in nine silent films Kapoor did a supporting role in India’s first talking  film Alam Ara in 1931 . His performance in film Vidyapati (1937) was much appreciated. His best-known performance was in film -Maharathi karan in 1944, Sohrab Modi’s 1941 movie- Sikandar सिकंदर and in 1960 film Mugley Azaam मुगले आजम. By the year 1944, Kapoor had set up his own theatre group named Prithvi Theatres, whose premier stage drama ( नाटक) was Kalidas’s Abhijan Shakuntala . Prithvi Theatres in the next 16 years staged mind boggling 2662 numbers of memorable and famous dramas across india with Prithviraj in lead roles in all of them .Many of the fine actors and technicians that Prithvi Theatres nurtured found their way to the hindi movies. Indeed, this was the case with all of Prithviraj’s own sons ( Raj , Shammi and Sashi kapoor ) . As Prithviraj progressed into his 50s, he gradually ceased theatre activities and accepted occasional offers from film-makers, including his own sons. He appeared with his son Raj kapoor in the 1951 film Awara as a stern judge . He was a versatile actor with unforgettable heavy and impressive voice and his own way of delivering the dialogues. His famous films of this period includes Mughal-e-Azam (1960), where he gave his most memorable performance as the Mughal emperor Akbar, which earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor and then in film Harishchandra Taramati in 1963 in which he played the lead role and an unforgettable performance as king Porus in 1965 film Sikandar-e-Azam and as a  grandfather in 1971 film Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971) कल आज और कल in which he appeared with his eldest son Raj Kapoor and grandson Randhir Kapoor.He also starred in the Punjabi films Nanak naam jahaj hey , Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar (1970) and Mele Mittran De (1972).Prithviraj was aged 17 when he was married to the 15-year-old Ramsarni ( nick name – Rama) Mehra . The marriage was harmonious and conventional and lasted all their lives . The couple went on to have three surving sons Raj , Shamsher Raj (Shammi) and Balbir Raj (Shashi) and all three of them became very  famous actors and filmmakers in due course and in their own right .After his retirement, Prithviraj settled in a cottage called Prithvi Jhonpra near Juhu Beach, Bombay .Both Prithviraj and Rama  had cancer and died 16 days apart. Prithviraj died on 29 May 1972 and Ramsarni or Rama died on 14 June 1972. A Samadhi of Raj Kapoor at their family farm “Rajbaugh” ( 30 km from pune ) also houses Privthiraj Kapoor and his wife Rama’s memorial.Kapoor family sold part of 125 acres Rajbaugh to MIT World Peace University which also built the memorial for the Kapoor family on its campus. It has 7 pagodas and a viewing gallery which displays the Kapoor family’s photographs. Raj Kapoor shot many of his films at this farm, including Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, and Prem Rog among others. Kapoor’s family bungalow inside the farm has been preserved; the popular song “Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Ho” हम तुम एक कमरे में बंद हों was shot inside this bungalow only .In 1954, Prithviraj was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and in 1969 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by govt . He remained a Nominated Rajya Sabha Member for eight years from 1952 to 1962 . In the year 1996 , India Post issued a postage stamp in his honour and second one in 2013 in commemoration of 100th year of indian cinema , depicting Prithviraj kapoor on it . He was posthumously ( मरणोपरांत after death ) awarded the most coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 1971. A list of his prominent movies year wise is appended in a separate note .Prithviraj Kapoor will always remain in the memory of the people perhaps for centuries to come as one of the founding fathers of hindi films and for his incredible performance in staze dramas and in films .

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               Seven stars

THE FIRST HINDI FILM FAMILY FOUNDED BY PRITHVI RAJ KAPOOR :-

The famous movies of Prithviraj Raj kapoor