Bollywood
star
Ranbir
Kapoor
on
Tuesday
said
he
is
interested
in
making
a
biographical
feature
film
on
the
life
of
his
grandfather
and
Hindi
cinema
veteran
Raj
Kapoor.
The
actor,
who
belongs
to
the
fourth
generation
of
the
prestigious
Kapoor
film
family,
was
speaking
at
a
panel
discussion
following
the
launch
of
the
book
"Raj
Kapoor:
The
Master
At
Work" in
the
capital.
Asked
what
he
would
say
to
his
grandfather
if
he
were
alive,
Ranbir
Kapoor
said,
"I
would
like
to
have
a
drink
with
him,
just
chat
with
him
about
life."
"I'm
very
much
interested
in
making
a
biopic
on
his
life.
There
are
so
many
things
which
were
off
the
record
probably
when
Rahul
uncle
was
working
with
him.
I
know
Rahul
uncle
has
many
stories
which
he
has
not
put
in
the
book,"
he
continued.
Published
by
Bloomsbury
India,
the
book
is
written
by
filmmaker
Rahul
Rawail,
who
served
as
an
assistant
director
to
Raj
Kapoor
on
films
like
"Bobby",
as
told
to
Pranika
Sharma.
Vice
President
M
Venkaiah
Naidu
launched
the
memoir
at
India
Habitat
Centre's
Stein
Auditorium
here
on
account
of
the
late
filmmaker's
97th
birth
anniversary.
Regarded
as
the
Showman
of
Hindi
Cinema,
Raj
Kapoor
was
an
actor,
a
director
and
producer
known
for
films
like
"Aag",
"Shree
420",
"Mera
Naam
Joker",
"Ram
Teri
Ganga
Maili",
among
others.
A
recipient
of
Padma
Bhushan
and
the
Dadasaheb
Phalke
Award,
the
legendary
filmmaker
died
in
1988
at
the
age
of
63.
Rawail,
who
was
friends
with
his
mentor's
younger
sons
Rishi
Kapoor
and
Rajiv
Kapoor,
said
he
would
like
to
write
another
book
in
which
he
would
talk
about
"all
the
three
sons
(of
Raj
Kapoor)".
While
Rishi
Kapoor
passed
away
in
April
2020
after
a
two-year
battle
with
cancer,
Rajiv
Kapoor
died
following
a
heart
attack
in
February
this
year.
"I
would
write
a
book
called
'Kapoor
and
Sons'," the
director
said
in
a
reference
to
Rishi
Kapoor's
2016
film
of
the
same
name.
Raj
Kapoor's
eldest
son,
veteran
actor-director
Randhir
Kapoor,
who
was
also
present
at
the
book
launch,
said
cinema
was
the
only
thing
that
mattered
to
his
father.
"We
didn't
matter
to
him
actually.
He
only
saw
us
grow,"
he
quipped.
"He
ate,
he
sang,
he
drank,
he
did
everything...
only
for
cinema,"
Randhir
Kapoor,
who
has
penned
the
book's
foreword,
added.
Growing
up
there
were
so
many
stories
of
Raj
Kapoor,
usually
they
were
stories
of
glory,
Ranbir
Kapoor
said.
"Rahul
uncle
has
painted
him
real.
When
you
assist
someone
at
work,
you
get
to
know
who
that
person
was.
Rahul
uncle
has
put
his
madness
in
perspective
very
nicely."
The
actor,
who
is
in
the
capital
to
launch
the
motion
poster
of
his
upcoming
film
"Brahmastra" on
Wednesday,
also
remembered
his
father,
actor
Rishi
Kapoor
as
a
"strict
but
passionate"
man.
"He
was
passionate
about
everything
--
his
wife,
his
family,
his
food,
his
alcohol,
his
movies.
He
used
to
love
playing
bridge
on
the
computer
while
listening
to
old
Hindi
songs
on
the
radio.
Apart
from
all
the
cinema
values,
what
me
and
my
sister
are
really
proud
of
are
the
moral
values
that
he
instilled
in
us.
He
was
truly
a
great
father,
we
miss
him
dearly."
Randhir
Kapoor
said
when
"Mera
Naam
Joker",
which
his
father
directed,
produced
and
featured
in,
bombed
at
the
box
office
and
opened
to
bad
reviews,
he
didn't
want
to
celebrate
his
birthday.
But
today
the
film,
about
a
clown
who
must
make
his
audience
laugh
at
the
cost
of
his
own
sorrows,
is
the
"biggest
profit
point
in
my
organisation",
he
said.
"I
make
the
most
money
out
of
'Mera
Naam
Joker',
the
first
choice
of
every
distributor
of
mine
is
this
film,"
he
added.
The
philosophical
drama,
also
starring
Simi
Garewal,
Padmini
and
Russian
actor
Kseniya
Ryabinkina,
was
probably
ahead
of
its
time,
Randhir
Kapoor
said.
Initially
criticised
for
its
extremely
long
running-time
of
248
minutes,
"Mera
Naam
Joker"
went
on
became
a
cult
classic
and
is
regarded
as
one
of
Raj
Kapoor's
best
films
and
among
the
best
Bollywood
films
of
the
20th
century.
"Maybe
the
film
came
a
bit
too
soon.
People
say
that
the
picture
was
too
long.
It
was
but
a
minute
or
two
longer
than
'Sangam'.
'Sangam'
could
be
a
huge
success,
I
don't
think
length
was
the
problem.
People
didn't
understand
the
film
then."
As
the
commercial
aspect
in
films
tends
to
supersede
creativity
today,
Randhir
Kapoor
said
"the
Raj
Kapoor
era
of
films
is
over".
"Today,
people
prefer
to
work
in
a
film
which
completes
in
13
days
rather
than
300
days.
Like
Rahul
said
that
Raj
Kapoor
started
shooting
for
'Bobby'
at
6.30
in
the
morning
and
at
6.45
am,
the
day
was
over.
He
didn't
calculate
money.
I
remember
he
got
the
rooftops
of
Gulmarg
painted
during
the
shooting
of
'Bobby'
because
they
were
not
looking
nice.
That
was
personal
cinema." Ranbir
Kapoor
partially
agreed
to
his
uncle's
remarks,
saying
he
used
to
hear
stories
that
Raj
Kapoor's
house
was
mortgaged
and
his
grandmother
Krishna
Kapoor's
jewellery
was
sold
to
complete
a
film.
Defending
the
new-age
directors,
he
added,
"Not
saying
that
my
generation
of
filmmakers
are
only
running
behind
the
commercial
aspect...
When
I
assisted
Mr
(Sanjay
Leela)
Bhansali
(on
'Black'),
he
used
to
really
treat
me
as
an
assistant
director.
I
used
to
be
kneeling
down
for
hours,
he
used
to
hit
us,
he
used
to
abuse
us...
that
only
hardens
you
and
prepares
you
for
the
world."