Meet the Kapoor family of Bollywood
Four generations of superstars. And the fifth generation is but a few years away from making its mark in showbiz. There’s no family like the Kapoor family. Prithviraj Kapoor laid its foundation and Raj Kapoor was the man who catapulted the family’s success through the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. His siblings Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor did more. Raj Kapoor’s sons Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor ruled the roost till the ’80s. Come ’90s Randhir’s daughters Karisma and Kareena took the world of movies by storm. Ranbir Kapoor has now stamped his authority over the realm of superstars. A new breed, starting with Rima Jain’s son Armaan is trying to break through.
The Kapoor khandaan has been prominent movies for almost nine decades. It’s their aura that’s defined the Indian film industry’s status as one big happy family. Their family ties extend to other prominent film families. Big names like Premnath, Amitabh Bachchan, Ramesh Sippy and Saif Ali Khan are connected to the Kapoors thanks to matrimonial alliances. Prithviraj Kapoor relocated to Mumbai from Peshawar (now in Pakistan) in the ’20s. In the early ’40s he founded the theatre company Prithvi, while in the late ’40s his son Raj Kapoor established the RK Studio brand. The Kapoors, truly are the first family of Indian cinema. Here’s a full count of five fantastic generations:
Did you know?
Prithviraj Kapoor had three sons when he moved to Mumbai from Peshawar, Ranbirraj, Devinder (Devi) and Ravinder (Nandi). Devi succumbed to pneumonia sometime in 1930, while Nandi passed away a week later when he accidentally swallowed rat poison pills.
Prithviraj married Ramsarni (aka Rama, referred to as Chaiji) in 1923. Their eldest son Ranbirraj (Raj Kapoor) was born in 1924. Shamsherraj (Shammi) was born in 1931, followed by Urmila two years later and then Balbirraj (Shashi) in 1938.
Raj Kapoor
The eldest of Prithviraj’s children, Raj Kapoor dropped out of school and spent five years learning the trade of films and theatre. He joined Prithvi Theatre in 1944. Even though he debuted with Neel Kamal in 1947, he first made a mark under the RK banner with Aag. His second film Barsaat established his name as a producer/director/actor par excellence.
Shashi Kapoor
The youngest of Prithviraj’s children, Shashi was born in Calcutta. His childhood was spent in the backstage of Prithvi Theatre, the travelling theatre group that used to tour eight months every year all over India. He started off as a child artiste in RK films like Aag and Awara. He made his lead debut in 1961 with Dharmputra.
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor used to refer to himself as the first Kapoor born on Indian soil. He was born in 1931 and forayed into films in 1952. He had moderate success till 1961, when Junglee released and turned him into a sensation.
Urmila Kapoor
Urmila is Prithviraj’s only daughter. She was older to Shashi by three years. In their younger years, the brothers used to tease her for not having as fair a complexion as the brothers.
Raj Kapoor married Krishna, sister of actors Premnath and Rajendranath. They married in 1946. They had five children, three sons and two daughters. Krishnaji was Prithviraj’s cousin, so she was also Raj’s aunt in addition to being his wife. Raj Kapoor became the central figure of the Kapoor legacy after Prithviraj. Under his RK Studio banner and under his tutelage, his brothers and his children established the showbiz dominance of their family.
Randhir Kapoor
The eldest son of Raj Kapoor, Randhir was born in 1947. He started off as a child artiste in RK’s films. He had a brief stint as an assistant director in the late ’60s, after which he made his acting and directorial debut with Kal Aaj Aur Kal in 1971. The film featured three generations of the Kapoor family. He enjoyed great success through the ’70s as a romantic star.
Rishi Kapoor
Arguably, Raj Kapoor’s most successful son, Rishi was younger to Randhir and Ritu. He was born in 1952. He made his debut as a leading man at the age of 20 with Bobby. Since then, he’s worked in close to 150 films. Between the ’70s and ’90s he was one of Bollywood’s leading romantic heroes. Today he’s carved a niche for himself as a supporting actor. He’s the most popular Kapoor on social media. His latest film Kapoor & Sons is up for release.
Rima Kapoor
Raj Kapoor’s younger daughter, Rima and her sister Ritu did not take to acting because of the Kapoor family diktat where their women couldn’t work in movies. Rima married Manoj Jain, who’s Rajiv Kapoor’s best friend. One of Raj Kapoor’s last wishes was to have Rima tie the knot with Manoj.
Ritu Kapoor
Raj Kapoor’s elder daughter, Ritu was born in 1948. She wrote a book on Raj Kapoor in the ’90s. This biography was originally written in Russian and it reportedly sold more than a crore copies around the world.
Rajiv Kapoor
The youngest of Raj Kapoor’s children, Rajiv, was born in 1962. He made a splash with Ram Teri Ganga Maili in 1985. He later turned producer with films like Henna and Premgranth.
The second son of Prithviraj, he married Geeta Bali in 1955. She was already an established star, while he was still finding his feet as an actor. They had two children Aditya and Kanchan. Adtiya was born in 1956 while Kanchan was born in 1961. Geeta passed away due to a bout of small pox in 1965. He then married Neila Devi in 1969. Neila Devi, with her grace and maturity, held the family together.
L-R: Aditya Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Geeta Bali and Kanchan
Aditya Raj Kapoor and Kanchan
Aditya married Priti, niece of Neila Devi, they have a son Vishwapratap Kapoor and daughter Tulsi. Kanchan married Ketan Desai, son of Manmohan Desai, they have two daughters Pooja and Rajeshwari.
Urmila and Charanjit Sial and Jatin Sial
Urmila and Charanjit Sial
Urmila married businessman Charanjit Sial from Nagpur. They have three daughters, Anuradha, Priti and Namita and a son Jatin.
Jatin Sial
He’s the only member of the Sial family who’s made a career in showbiz. Jatin is a popular face having worked in TV shows like Kasam Se and movies like Vivah and Aa Ab Laut Chalein.
Shashi Kapoor married Jennifer Kendall in 1958. Jennifer was five years older to Shashi. They’d met during the touring of Prithvi theatre in Calcutta. Their courtship lasted for two years. Jennifer’s father Geoffrey Kendall opposed their relationship initially but with the help of Shammi and his then wife Geeta Bali, the two managed to get hitched.
Karan Kapoor
Second son of Shashi Kapoor, Karan featured in action flicks like Sultanat and Loha in the ’80s. He’s now a photographer living in London with wife Lorna and children Aliya and Zach.
Kunal Kapoor
Eldest son of Shashi and Jennifer, Kunal Kapoor made his acting debut in 1972. He’s married to Ramesh Sippy’s daughter Sheena. They have two children, Zahaan and Shaira.
Sanjana Kapoor
Youngest child of Shashi and Jennifer, Sanjana featured in movies like Hero Hiralal and Salaam Bombay. She gave up her career in films to manage and revive Prithvi Theatre. In 2011 she separated from Prithvi. She’s married to tiger conservation expert Valmik Thapar. They have a son named Hamir.
Randhir married actress Babita, who’s actor Hari Shivdasani’s daughter. She’s also the late actress Sadhana’s cousin. They married in 1971 and have two daughters Karisma and Kareena.
Karisma Kapoor was responsible for the big watershed moment in the Kapoor family history. In the ’90s she became the first woman from the family to act, defying her grandfather’s age-old diktat. Her younger sister Kareena followed suit and became just as successful.
Rishi married Neetu Singh in 1979. They were a hit romantic pair having featured in a dozen films together, most notably in Khel Khel Mein (1975), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977). Rishi had reportedly proposed to Neetu via a telegram from Paris. They’d got engaged in a hush hush ceremony in Delhi.
Riddhima and Ranbir
Riddhima was born in 1980 while Ranbir was born two years later. Riddhima has her own designer jewellery label. Ranbir made his acting debut in 2009 with Saawariya.
Rima is married to investment banker Manoj Jain. They have two sons Armaan and Aadar.
Armaan and Aadar
Armaan, the older sibling, made his acting debut with Lekar Hum Deewana Dil in 2014. He assisted for three years at Dharma Productions having worked on I Hate Luv Storys, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu and Student Of The Year. Aadar is currently learning the trade as an assistant director.
Ritu married Rajan Nanda an established industrialist but she chose to carve out her own career. Her insurance firm, Ritu Nanda Insurance Services is one of India’s largest insurance providers and advisors. Ritu has a daughter Natasha and son Nikhil.
Nikhil Nanda
Nikhil is a graduate of the Wharton School of Management, USA
Natasha Nanda
She started her career with ANZ Grindlays Bank to later join Escorts Finance. She then founded Rimari Corporate Art Service.
Karisma was a top star for 12 years. She made headlines for her roles and friendships, and tied the knot with industrialist Sanjay Kapur on September 29, 2003. They filed for divorce in 2014. As of now, they’re in court fighting for the custody of their children, Samaira and Kiaan.
Samaira and Kiaan
Samaira was born in 2005. She was recently in the news for making a short film titled Be Happy, which won raves at a film festival in Hyderabad. She acted in the film and was credited as a cinematographer too. Kiaan is currently in school.
Kareena and Saif confirmed their relationship in 2007. They married on October 16 2012 in a five-day wedding extravaganza that was described as India’s biggest wedding and social event.
Armaan Jain and Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir was instrumental in bringing his cousin Armaan on board for Saif Ali Khan’s home production Lekar Hum Deewana Dil. Ranbir played a promotional football match to promote the film in 2014.
Nikhil, son of Ritu and Rajan Nanda; married Shweta Bachchan, daughter of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan on February 16, 1997. Nikhil reportedly fell in love with Shweta at a wedding in Mumbai. They have two children, Navya Naveli and Agastya.
Navya Naveli
She recently turned 18 and she has a major fan following on social media. Her pictures on Instagram and Twitter make headlines almost every day.
Agastya
He recently turned 15 and his grandfather Amitabh Bachchan tweeted a picture of Agastya and Abhishek Bachchan together. The young boy is schooling in London.
Riddhima married businessman Bharat Sahni in 2006. She’s is a regular in Delhi’s party and fashion circuit. She met Bharat in London. Their courtship lasted for three years. They have a daughter Samara.
Samara
She’s barely five but Samara has already made headlines for her Dubsmash videos with uncle Ranbir Kapoor.
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