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Prithviraj Kapoor

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Prithviraj Kapoor
Born
Lyallpur, Punjab,
Years active1929-1971
SpouseRamsarni "Rama" Mehra (1923/24-1972)

Prithviraj Kapoor (Hindi: पृथ्वीराज कपूर, Pṛithvīrāj Kapūr, 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was a pioneer of Indian theatre and of the Hindi film industry, who started his career as an actor, in the silent era of Hindi cinema, associated with IPTA and who founded Prithvi Theatres, a travelling theatre company based in Mumbai, in 1944.[1]

He was also the patriarch of the Kapoor family of Hindi films, five generations of which family, beginning with him, have played active roles in Hindi film industry. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1969 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1971 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

Early life

Prithviraj was born on November 3, 1906 at Samundri[2][3] near the town of Lyallpur (currently Faisalabad, Pakistan) in Punjab, British India to a middle-class Hindu Punjabi Khatri[4] family that seem to have settled some time earlier in Peshawar.[5] Prithviraj could speak Hindi, Punjabi, and Hindko.[6][7]

His father, Dewan Basheswarnath Singh Kapoor, was a sub-inspector of police. Prithviraj received his initial education at Khalsa College Lyallpur and at Lahore. His paternal grandfather, Dewan Keshavmal, was a powerful influence during his childhood. Baseshwarnath was posted at Peshawar, and so Prithviraj received his higher education at the Edwardes College, Peshawar, Pakistan and joined a one year program in Law to become a Lawyer. It was here that his talents on stage first received expression. Prithviraj's son Shammi recollects[2] that Prof. Jai Dayal, a member of the faculty, was instrumental in nurturing his talent. The professor was in love with an English lady by the name of Nora Richard, who in turn was a theatre aficionado with a passion for Shakespeare and Ibsen. The couple found Prithviraj the perfect material for many roles in the plays they mounted. This was his grounding in the art of the theatre.

Career

Prithviraj did his B.A. at Edward College, Peshawar, a feat that few of his descendants were destined to match. He also studied law as a graduate student for one year, but his heart was in the theatre. In 1928, with the help of a loan from his aunt, Prithviraj moved to the city of Bombay (present-day Mumbai) which is the switch of the Hindi film industry.

He acted as an extra in his first film role, though he grew up to get a lead role for his third Cinema Girl in 1929.[8] After featuring in nine silent films,[9] Kapoor did a supporting role in India's first film talkie, Alam Ara (1931). His performance in Vidyapati (1937) was much appreciated. His best-known performance is perhaps as Alexander the Great in Sohrab Modi’s Sikandar (1941). He also joined the only English theatrical company called 'J. Grant Anderson' which remained in India for a year.[8] Through all these years Prithviraj remained devoted to the theatre and performed on stage regularly. He developed a reputation as a fine actor on both stage and screen.

Prithvi Theatres

Main article: Prithvi Theatre

By 1944, Prithviraj had the wherewithal and standing to found his own theatre group, Prithvi Theatres, its premiere performance was, Kalidasa's "Shakuntala" in 1944. His eldest son, Raj Kapoor, had already struck out on his own; the films he produced had been successful and this was also an enabling factor. Prithviraj invested in and founded Prithvi Theatres, a travelling troupe which staged memorable productions across India. In over 16 years of existence, the theater staged some 2,662 shows. Prithviraj starred as the lead actor in every single show.[10]

By the late 1950s, it was clear that the era of the travelling theatre was past; that art-form had been irreversibly supplanted by the cinema. No longer was it financially feasible for a troupe of up to 80 people (as Prithvi theatre was) to travel the country for four to six months at a time with their tons of stage props and equipment, living in hotels where possible and at campsites otherwise. The financial returns, through ticket sales and the rapidly diminishing largesse of patrons from the erstwhile princely class of India, was just not adequate to support such an effort. Many of the fine actors and technicians that Prithvi Theatres nurtured had found their way to the movies. Indeed, this was the case with all of Prithviraj's own sons. As Prithviraj progressed into his 50's, he gradually ceased theatre activities and accepted occasional offers from film-makers, including his own sons. Later, under his son, Shashi Kapoor, and his wife Jennifer Kendal, it merged with the Indian Shakespeare theatre company, "Shakespeareana", and the company got a permanent home, with the inauguration of the "Prithvi Theatre" in Mumbai 5 November 1978.[11]

Postage stamp

In 1996, the 'Golden Jubilee year' of the founding of Prithvi Theatre, India Post, issued a special two Rupee, 'commemorative' postage stamp in New Delhi,[12] it featured the logo of Prithvi Theatre 1945-1995, and an image its founder 'Prithviraj Kapoor', without the name, as just his face seemed enough, being the legend that he had become in his lifetime and beyond in Hindi theatre.[13] The first day cover, (stamped 15-1-95) showed an illustration of performance of travelling theatre in progress, on a stage that seem fit for a travelling theatre, as Prithvi theatre was for sixteen, till 1960.[11]

Later years

His filmography of this period includes Mughal E Azam (1960) where he gave his most memorable performance as the Mughal emperor Akbar, Harishchandra Taramati (1963) where he played the lead role and unforgettable performances as Porus in Sikandar-e-Azam (1965) and the stentorian grandfather in Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971) where he appeared with his son and grandson Randhir Kapoor.

Kapoor starred in the legendary religious Punjabi film Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai (1969), a film so revered in Punjab that there were lines many kilometers long to purchase tickets.

He also starred in the Punjabi films Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar (1970) and Mele Mittran De (1972).

Awards and honours

In 1954, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, and in 1969, the Padma Bhushan by the government of India. He remained Nominated Rajya Sabha Member for eight years.[9]

After his death in 1972, he was posthumously awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 1971. He was the third recipient of that award, the highest accolade in Indian cinema.

Legacy

Main article: Kapoor Family (film)

Prithviraj Kapoor's descendants have contributed richly to the Hindi film industry and he is thus reckoned the patriarch of the 'first family of Hindi films.' All three of his sons became noted actors and film-makers and two of his daughters-in-law worked in the same field. Nearly all his grandchildren, including Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor, Karan Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor, and granddaughter Sanjana Kapoor have worked in the field of films, either as actors or film-makers or both. Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, two of the top film-stars of today, are Prithviraj's great-granddaughters, being the granddaughters of his eldest son Raj Kapoor. His great-grandson Ranbir Kapoor, son of Rishi Kapoor, the fourth generation of leading heroes, made his debut in the Hindi film Saawariya in 2007.

Personal life

As was customary in that era, Prithviraj married at a young age. At age 18, Prithviraj married the 15-year-old Ramsarni Mehra, in a match that was arranged by their families. Their eldest child, Raj Kapoor, was born in December 1924. By the time Prithviraj moved to Bombay in 1928, the couple were the parents of three children. In 1930, Ramsarni joined Prithviraj in Bombay. The following year, while she was pregnant for the fourth time, the couple suffered the tragic loss of two of their three children in the space of one week.[14] One of their children, Devi, died of double pneumonia while the other child, Nandi, died of poisoning in a freak incident when he swallowed some rat-poison pills strewn in the garden. He is the cousin of film Producer Surinder Kapoor.

The couple went on to have four children further. All three of their surviving sons, Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, were to become famous actors and film-makers in their own right. They also had one daughter, Urmila Sial.

After his retirement, Prithviraj settled in Bombay, in a cottage near Juhu beach. The property was later to be converted into a small, experimental theatre, the Prithvi Theatre. Both Prithviraj and Ramsarni suffered from cancer in their declining years and died within a fortnight of each other. Prithviraj died on 29 May 1972 and was followed by his wife of 63 years on June 14 the same year.

Selected filmography

Further reading

  • Shashi Kapoor presents the Prithviwallahs, by Shashi Kapoor, Deepa Gahlot, Prithvi Theatre (Bombay, India). Roli Books, 2004. ISBN 8174363483.
  • The Kapoors: the first family of Indian cinema, by Madhu Jain. Penguin, Viking, 2005. ISBN 0670058378.

Notes

  1. ^ Prithviraj Kapoor Resource page and photo gallery
  2. ^ a b Prithviraj, My father by Shamsherraj (Shammi) Kapoor
  3. ^ "Legend of cinema Prithiviraj Kapoor From Lyallpur to Bombay". Network. November 04,2009. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Prithviraj Kapoor". http://www.oomphbollywood.com. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Prithviraj Kapoor: A centenary tribute". Daily Times / University of Stockholm. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  6. ^ "Bollywood's First Family". Rediff. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  7. ^ Daily Times: Peshawarites still remember the Kapoor family
  8. ^ a b Kissing the firmament with Prithvi Theatre The Hindu 22 November 2004.
  9. ^ a b Tribute to Prithvi Raj Kapoor (1906-1972) International Film Festival of India website.
  10. ^ Prithviraj's biography at the IMDB
  11. ^ a b India: Prithvi Theatre
  12. ^ Prithvi Theatre Stamp India Post.
  13. ^ Genes and Genius The Book I Won't be Writing and Other Essays, by H. Y. Sharada Prasad, Orient Longman, 2003. ISBN 8180280020. Page 300.
  14. ^ Ramsarni Devi Kapoor

References

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