Raj Kapoor reigned the Hindi film industry with the tag of the ‘Greatest Showman’ for no ordinary reason. The pioneer filmmaker had led the craft of films achieve newer heights, which no one could think about. Not just the silver screen, Raj Kapoor was equally deemed in the world of theatre, where he produced one after the other successful shows. However, there was a time when Raj Kapoor suffered a massive defeat post the failure of his highly-anticipated film, Mera Naam Joker. It unfortunately led the filmmaker to plummet to an enormous debt.
Well, the failure of Mera Naam Joker at the box-office was quite unexpected, since Raj Kapoor, as a filmmaker, proceeded to make it as one of his highly anticipated films in his entire career. However, the time was such when he was placed into a tight spot, and he decided to make his next project, Bobby, a tool to redeem the losses. However, Bobby was no ordinary film, as it starred his own son, Rishi Kapoor, who made his official debut with it, at the age of 20. Raj Kapoor chose to make Bobby with his son, Rishi Kapoor, since he couldn’t afford to cast any other star, considering the budgetary restraints he had after the failure of his previous film.
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While everything seemed to settle down with Raj Kapoor releasing Bobby in 1973, there was an inherent undercurrent of apprehension as well. This was the time when audiences considered stalwarts like Rajesh Khanna as the ultimate romantic hero, and at the same time, action films were also much-hyped. Therefore, in comparison to them, the then 20-year-old Rishi Kapoor and 15-year-old Dimple Kapadia seemed no match. Fortunately, the actors, with their innocence and sheer perfection in acting, melted a zillion hearts. It not only made Bobby a success at the box-office, but the enormous revenue generated helped Raj Kapoor to come out of his debt.
Back in 2013, during an interview with The Print, Rishi Kapoor had spilled beans on one of the teachings that he has imbibed from his father, Raj Kapoor, and thereafter, passed it on to his own son, Ranbir Kapoor. Rishi clearly remembered how his father specified that he wouldn’t be the former’s secretary, and will allow him to learn from mistakes. Rishi Kapoor added:
“I have continued with that, with my son.'I know the whole film industry. I've worked with most of them. Everybody calls him and I have to say the same thing. I tell them I'm his father, not his secretary."
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Previously, in one of his older interviews with a leading magazine, Rishi Kapoor had divulged what it meant to be the son of an eminent filmmaker and legendary actor like Raj Kapoor. Rishi mentioned that while his father had an exterior aura of creating fear, as a son, he actually stopped fearing Raj Kapoor after one of their interesting moments together. Narrating the same, Rishi Kapoor had said:
“I am not entirely sure when I stopped fearing my father. It may have happened with my own rising stardom. My father and I had a strange relationship. One day, I remember, soon after I had become a star in my own right, we inadvertently shared a bedroom. I was quite high and wanted to go to the bathroom. On my way back, in my drunken stupor, I turned right instead of left. Without realising it, I ended up sleeping next to my father. When I woke up I was in the tiger’s den. After all those years of fearing him, I ended up sharing a bed with him!”
What are your views on this anecdote about the father-son, Rishi Kapoor and Raj Kapoor?
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