Active since 1929; Prithviraj Kapoor acted in Alam Ara (1931), the first talkie film of India
The Kapoor family[10][11] is a prominent Indian show business family with at least 4 generations of the family over 96 years being active in the Hindi film industry.[10] Numerous members of the family, both (biological) and those who have married into the family, have had prolific careers as actors, film directors and producers.[10][12] "The Pioneer" founder of the dynasty was "The Patriarch", Prithviraj Kapoor,[13][12][14] who was the first member of family to begin acting in movies with his 1929 debut film Be Dhari Talwar.[15] He was a pioneer of Indian theatre and the founding member of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).[11][16] His son Raj Kapoor was the most influential actor and director in Hindi cinema.[10][11] The genesis generation or the earliest linear generation of the Kapoor family tree to ever act in the films was Prithviraj Kapoor's father, Basheshwarnath Kapoor, who debuted as actor in 1951 film Awaara, which was produced, directed and starred in lead role by his grandson Raj Kapoor.[13][12][17]
Prithviraj Kapoor was the first from the family to pursue a career in films. His ancestral origins were in Samundri, Lyallpur District, Faisalabad, Punjab Province of British India.[18][19] His father, Basheshwarnath Kapoor, served as a police officer in the Imperial Police in the city of Peshawar;[22] while his grandfather, Keshavmal Kapoor, was a Tehsildar in Samundri.[23] His younger brother, Trilok Kapoor also became an actor; with his first role in the film Char Darvesh in 1933, Trilok emerged as one of the most commercially successful actors of his era.
Raj Kapoor's sons, Randhir Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor, went on to become well-known actors; his youngest son, Rajiv Kapoor, was not as successful as his brothers. Shashi Kapoor's children were unsuccessful in acting because of their European looks. His daughter, Sanjana Kapoor, ran the Prithvi Theatre from 1993[27] to February 2012, his elder son, Kunal Kapoor, runs an ad company, and Shashi's youngest child, Karan Kapoor, currently runs a photography company in London. Shammi Kapoor's son, Aditya Raj Kapoor, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and retired businessman and his daughter Kanchan Kapoor is married to the son of Manmohan Desai.
Randhir Kapoor is married to Babita. They have two daughters Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, both of whom have found success in the film industry. Rishi Kapoor was married to actress Neetu Singh; their son, Ranbir Kapoor, has established himself as a leading Bollywood actor, and their daughter, Riddhima Kapoor Sahani, is a designer. Ranbir Married British-Indian actress Alia Bhatt Kapoor in 2022. They Had a Daughter Named Raha Kapoor who exactly resembles her Grandfathers Rishi and Raj Kapoor.
Prithviraj Kapoor's cousin was Surinder Kapoor[29] who left Peshawar and came to Mumbai with help from Prithviraj Kapoor.[30] who was married to Nirmal Kapoor. His oldest son is Boney Kapoor who was married to Mona Shourie and then to Sridevi and is the father of Arjun, Anshula, Janhvi, and Khushi. His middle son is Anil Kapoor who is married to Sunita Kapoor and is the father of Sonam (married to Anand Ahuja), Rhea (married to Karan Boolani) and Harshvardhan Kapoor. His youngest son is Sanjay Kapoor who is married to Maheep Sandhu and is the father of Shanaya and Jahaan Kapoor. His daughter is Reena Kapoor Marwah who is married to Sandeep Marwah of Marwah Films and Video Studios and is the mother of Mohit (married to Antara Motiwala) and Akshay Marwah (married to Aashita Relan).
Noted actor Kamal Kapoor, who was famous for playing the role 'Narrang' in the 1978 blockbuster movie Don was the maternal first cousin of Prithviraj Kapoor (their mothers were sisters) and so were his brothers Nandkishore Kapoor and Ravindra Kapoor. Kamal Kapoor had five children including Kapil Kapoor and Madhu Behl who married Ramesh Behl. Madhu and Ramesh Behl's son is Goldie Behl, who is married to actress Sonali Bendre, thus the Behl family is related to the Kapoor family by marriage.
Raj's, Shashi's, and Shammi's maternal cousin, Juggal Kishore Mehra, was a singer, whose step-granddaughter was Salma Agha who became an actress and singer in Pakistan.
Trilok Kapoor – Second son of Basheshwarnath Kapoor who went on to become extremely popular in the role of lord Shiva in the 1950s.[10][31]
Kailash Kapoor Kakkar – daughter of Basheshwarnath Kapoor
Kamal Kapoor, cousin of Prithviraj Kapoor – their mothers were sisters, played the role of Narang in 1978 movie Don. Ramesh Behl is his son-in-law & Ramesh's son Goldie Behl is grandson.
Ravindra Kapoor, brother of Kamal Kapoor, appeared in many Punjabi and Hindi movies including Jitendra's 1971 movie Caravan & Amir Khan's 1988 movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (character of Dharampal Singh). Kapil Kapoor is his nephew.
Second generation
The second generation of the Kapoor family was led by three main Kapoor actors, Raj, and his younger brother's Shammi and Shashi. Among Kapoors of all generations, Raj Kapoor has been the most distinguished and prolific contributor as an actor, producer, director and in terms of his impact in enhancing Bollywood's international reach, India's soft power and diplomacy across the USSR, the Middle East, Africa and Palestine.[10]
Notable people of this generation include:
Raj Kapoor – eldest son of Prithviraj Kapoor; married to Krishna Malhotra
Shammi Kapoor – second son of Prithviraj Kapoor; married to Geeta Bali (first wife) and Neila Devi (second wife)
Urmila Kapoor Sial – daughter of Prithviraj Kapoor; married to Charanjit Sial
Vijay Kapoor – son of Trilok Kapoor
Vicky Kapoor – son of Trilok Kapoor
Subbiraj – son of Kailash Kakkar (Prithviraj Kapoor's sister); married to Kumari Naaz
Third generation
Members of the family in 2017
Rishi Kapoor, son of Raj Kapoor, led this generation and his two actor brothers, Randhir and Rajeev, remained in the shadow of his success.[10] Rishi was best known as a romantic hero; his charm and charisma quickly made him one of Bollywood's leading men of the 1970s and 1980s. He later took on more supporting roles and character parts.[11]
Rana Jain – son of Armaan Jain and Anissa Malhotra Jain
Kapoor Family Memorial at Rajbaugh
The Samadhi (memorial) of Raj Kapoor, also housing memorial of his mother and father Prithviraj Kapoor, is at their family farm "Rajbaugh", which means the "king of gardens". Located inside the MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU), Rajbaugh lies off the NH65 on the banks of Mula-Mutha River in Loni Kalbhor village 30 km east of Pune in Maharshtra. Kapoor family sold a part of the 125 acres Rajbaugh to MIT-WPU which built a memorial for the Kapoor family on its campus. The memorial was unveiled in 2014 in the presence of Lata Mangeshkar and members of the Kapoor clan. The Kapoor family memorial has 7 pagodas showing elements of Raj Kapoor's movies and a museum or viewing gallery which shows family photographs and moments from his movie making from 1945 to 1990. Raj Kapoor shot many of his films at this farm, including Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, and Prem Rog. Kapoor's family bungalow inside the farm has been preserved. The popular song "Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Ho" was shot inside this bungalow.[32][33][34][10]
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