You may have seen all the popular movies of Kareena Kapoor Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. You may have come across films of the veteran Kapoors like Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, and even Rishi and Randhir Kapoor. But did you know that the Kapoor bloodline has been in the film industry for over nine decades? In today’s segment of ETimes BFFs (Big Filmy Families), we take you through the four generations of Kapoors, most of whom have been entertaining film and television enthusiasts for years, and the fifth generation that is just a couple of years away from making their big Bollywood debut.
Prithviraj Kapoor
Prithviraj Kapoor was the son of Dewan Basheswarnath Singh Kapoor from his first marriage. Prithviraj married Ramsarni Mehra in 1923. They had three sons when they moved to Mumbai from Peshawar – Ranbirraj (Raj), Devinder (Devi), and Ravinder (Nandi). While Devi died of pneumonia around 1930, Nandi passed away a week later after accidentally consuming rat poison pills. Later Shamsherraj (Shammi) was born in 1931, followed by Urmila and then Balbirraj (Shashi).
It won’t be wrong to say that Prithviraj gave birth to 30-40% of the Indian film industry. He was a college graduate who wanted to take up drama while he was still in Peshawar. At the time of partition, he decided to move to Calcutta, which was the Hollywood of India at that time. He started working and then brought his family to Calcutta. The film “Awara” features three generations of Kapoors. While Prithviraj plays the lawyer, his father Basheswarnath was the judge, while Raj Kapoor essayed the defendant, the guy under trial. He made his acting debut as an extra in “Be Dhari Talwar” in 1928 and thereafter had an exhaustive filmography with evergreen films like “Alam Ara,” “Boot Polish,” “Shree 420,” “Mughal-e-Azam,” among many others.
Raj Kapoor
The eldest son of Prithviraj, Raj Kapoor, was a school dropout who spent five years learning the trade of films and theatre. He joined Prithvi Theatre in 1944. He made his debut with “Neel Kamal” in 1947. Thereafter, he did the film “Aag” under the banner of RK Studios. But it was “Barsaat” that established him as a producer, director, and an actor par excellence. With the kind of roles and films he did, he went on to be known as the Showman of Indian cinema. He was also known as the Charlie Chaplin of Indian cinema and Clarke Gable of the Indian film industry.
Krishna Kapoor
Raj Kapoor married Krishna, sister of actors Premnath and Rajendranath, in 1946. They had five children – three sons and two daughters. Krishna was Prithviraj’s cousin, so she was also Raj’s aunt in addition to being his wife.
Randhir Kapoor
Raj Kapoor’s eldest son Randhir was born in 1947. He started off as a child artiste in RK Films movies. He also had a brief stint as an AD, after which he made his acting and directorial debut with “Kal Aaj Aur Kal” in 1971. This film too featured three generations of Kapoors. In the 70s, he came ot be known as a romantic star. Randhir married actress Babita, who is actor Hari Shivdasani’s daughter in 1971. They have two daughters – Karisma and Kareena.
Karisma Kapoor
Karisma became the first woman in the Kapoor family to act in films in the 90s. Kareena followed suit and became one of the most successful actresses of present times. Karisma tied the knot with industrialist Sanjay Kapur in 2003. They got divorced in 2016. The custody of their children, Samaira and Kiaan lies with Karisma, and Sanjay has visitation rights.
Samaira and Kiaan
Samaira was born in 2005 and has made a short film titled “Be Happy.” She has acted in the film and has been credited as a cinematographer too. Kiaan is currently pursuing his studies.
Kareena Kapoor Khan
A mother of two kids Taimur and Jeh, Kareena is perhaps one of the busiest actresses of current times with a host of films, series, and endorsements in her kitty. She married Saif in 2012.
Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor made his Bollywood debut at the age of 20 with “Bobby.” Thereafter, he had a huge filmography of over 150 films. He married Neetu Singh in 1979. They acted in several films together and were a hit romantic pair on screen as well. “Khel Khel Mein,” “Kabhi Kabhie,” “Amar Akbar Anthony” are some of their most popular films. They have two kids – Riddhima and Ranbir.
Riddhima Kapoor Sahni
Riddhima is an established jewelry designer and owns a label too. She married businessman Bharat Sahni in 2006 after dating him for three years. They have a daughter Samara.
Samara
Samara recently turned 12. She often hits the headlines, and especially her Dubsmash videos with uncle Ranbir Kapoor had become a rage on the internet.
Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir Kapoor is the chocolate boy of Bollywood. He enjoys a massive fan following and has had some very successful films like “Wake Up Sid,” “Rockstar,” “Barfi!,” “Tamasha,” “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,” “Brahmastra,” among many others. He will soon be seen in “Animal.” He married actress Alia Bhatt last year, and they have a daughter named Raha Kapoor.
Rima Jain
Rima and her sister Ritu did not take to acting following the Kapoor family diktat. Rima married investment banker Manoj Jain, the best friend of Rajiv Kapoor. They have two sons Armaan and Aadar.
Armaan Jain
Armaan made his acting debut with “Lekar Hum Deewana Dil” in 2014. Ranbir was instrumental in bringing him on board for the film, which was Saif Ali Khan’s home production. Armaan was earlier an assistant with Dharma Productions for three years and has worked on films like “I Hate Luv Storys,” “Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu,” and “Student Of The Year.” He married Anissa Malhotra in 2020, and they have a baby boy named Rana.
Aadar Jain
Aadar too started as an assistant director and later turned an actor. He is known for films like “Qaidi Band,” “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,” and “Hello Charlie.”
Ritu Nanda
Ritu 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. She married industrialist Rajan Nanda, and she runs her own insurance firm. Together they have a daughter Natasha and son Nikhil.
Nikhil Nanda
Nikhil studied in the USA and married Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter Shweta Bachchan in 1997. They have two children, Navya Naveli and Agastya.
Navya Naveli Nanda
Navya enjoys a major fan following on social media. She may not be interested in a career in Bollywood, but she recently launched her podcast “What The Hell Navya” that featured her along with mom Shweta and grandma Jaya Bachchan. She is also the co-founder of Aara Health that works toward women’s health.
Agastya Nanda
Agastya completed his schooling in London and is currently making headlines for his much-awaited Bollywood debut with Zoya Akhtar’s “The Archies.”
Natasha Nanda
Natasha has a prolific career in banking and finance. She has founded Rimari Corporate Art Service.
Rajiv Kapoor
Rajiv’s claim to fame was the 1985 film “Ram Teri Ganga Maili.” Later, he turned producer with films like “Henna” and “Premgranth.” He married Aarti Sabharwal but later they parted ways and got divorced.
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor made his Bollywood debut in 1952, but it was only after “Junglee” in 1961 when he became a Bollywood sensation. He married actress Geeta Bali in 1955. They had two children Aditya and Kanchan. After Geeta passed away in 1965 due to a bout of smallpox, Shammi married Neila Devi in 1969. Neila never had kids of her own, but she held the entire family together.
Aditya Raj Kapoor
Aditya Raj Kapoor got into films just to enjoy himself. He spent 5-6 years there doing some television serials and something or the other, but he stopped acting after his dad expired. He married Neila Devi’s niece Priti. They have two kids – Vishwapratap and Tul