Kapoor Family's First Hero, Popular Than Raj Kapoor, Highest Paid Actor, Never Became A Superstar

Kapoor family, hailed as the rulers of Hindi cinema, has given some of the most popular stars to the film fraternity. Known as ‘The First Family of Indian Cinema’, the Kapoors have been ruling the industry for more than 93 years. Be it the patriarch, Prithviraj Kapoor, or other members of his family like Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Sashi Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor or Ranbir Kapoor, every generation is dedicated to acing.

While all the members of the family are hailed as the blue blood of Bollywood and their contribution to Indian cinema is untameable, there is one forgotten hero in the clan. He was once the highest-paid actor but never got the tag of superstar. Let us look at Trilok Kapoor, the forgotten hero of the Kapoor family.

Who was Trilok Kapoor?

Trilok Kapoor, the second son of Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor and the younger brother of actor, Prithviraj Kapoor, was born in February 1912. Trilok was six years younger than Prithviraj Kapoor, but before him, Trilok Kapoor made it to the Hindi cinema. He made his debut as a lead hero in the 1930s with the blockbuster film, Char Darvesh. Within a few months, he had another hit film, Seeta, and established himself as a leading actor.

Trilok Kapoor not only became a commercially successful actor but was also the highest-paid actor of his time. He worked with all the leading female artists of that time, such as Noor Jehan, Nalini Jaywant, Sushila Rani Patel, Meena Shorey, and Sulochana. He also acted with Nargis in the superhit film, Pyar Ki Baatein.

Trilok Kapoor was the top hero during the 1930s and 40s

Trilok Kapoor’s work in Hindi cinema was hugely applauded. From 1933 to 1947, he was at the peak of his career. He played lead roles in more than 30 films over these years, a feat that could not have been achieved by other Kapoor heroes like Shammi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, and even Raj Kapoor. Although his films were doing exceptionally well, he couldn’t become the favourite of the masses like his contemporaries Dilip Kumar and Ashok Kumar.

Why did Trilok Kapoor never become a superstar?

By the 1950s, Trilok Kapoor’s Hindi film career started getting dim, after which he began his second innings and started working in mythological films. Films like Shri Ram Bhakta Hanuman, Ramayan, Ekadashi, Ram Janma, and Trilok Kapoor made a great impact on the silver screen. His pairing with Nirupa Roy was loved, and together, they acted in 18 movies. Their film, Har Har Mahadeva, was the highest grosser of that year. Despite his films working great, Trilok never got the tag of a superstar like other members of his family. The major reasons for it were that all his films were small-budget and low-scale.

Trilok Kapoor played supporting roles in his last years

In the 1970s, Trilok Kapoor switched to character roles and worked as a supporting actor in films like Saudagar, Do Premee, Ganga Jamunaa Saraswathi, and Ram Teri Ganga Maili. He also did uncredited cameos in Saaya, Akanksha and Wafaa.

There is no information available about Trilok Kapoor’s wife. On the other hand, Trilok Kapoor had two sons, Vicky Kapoor and Vijay Kapoor. Vicky was a lawyer, and Vijay was a film director.

Trilok Kapoor bid adieu to the world in 1988 at the age of 76. Despite giving his entire life to the Hindi film industry, he remained a forgotten hero and never achieved the fame that other actors in his family achieved.

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