Avijit Ghosh (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 10, 2021)

Actor Rajiv Kapoor, best remembered as the hero of the blockbuster Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985; right), directed by his father, the great Raj Kapoor, passed away following a heart attack in Mumbai on Tuesday. He was 58. The 1980s saw a profusion of star sons launched into filmdom: Kumar Gaurav, Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Suneil Anand, to name a few. Rajiv belonged to the same bunch.

Unlike his older brothers, Randhir and Rishi, he wasn’t introduced in a home production. Randhir Kapoor had started out with Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971) and Rishi Kapoor, who passed away last year, with Bobby (1973). Rajiv made his debut with Ek Jaan Hain Hum (1983) under F C Mehra’s reputed banner, Eagle Films.

He oozed a natural flamboyance. Old-timers also spotted shades of uncle Shammi Kapoor’s brio in the exultant dance track, ‘Dil chahe aasman pe,’ and an amiable effervescence in ‘Bolo Kuchh To Bolo’, which Rajiv lip-synced with gusto on a bicycle. Journalist Madhu Jain wrote in a biography of Hindi cinema’s first family, The Kapoors, that director Lekh Tandon once said that Raj Kapoor had told him: “This boy will make it big. From Prithviraj on he will be the best Kapoor.”

But Rajiv’s career floundered. Post Ek Jaan Hain Hum, he acted in a clutch of duds: Ravindra Peepat’s Lava, Nasir Hussain’s Zabardast and Shomu Mukherjee’s Lover Boy. Even a double role in director Toni’s Aasman (1984), where he played the bad guy with relish, tanked at the box-office. He seemed unable to carve out a distinct personality that creates a steady fan base.

It was left to Papa Kapoor to provide his youngest son’s most memorable moment on celluloid. After the success of Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Rajiv said in an interview, “Ram Teri Ganga Maili (RTGM) has removed a big blot from my name. It has shown that given a good director and the right kind of note, I too, can deliver the goods and be accepted by the public in a very big way.” Critics too found his performance “poised and consistently credible.”

But Rajiv didn’t benefit much from RTGM’s triumph as the credit was given to Raj Kapoor. Even Mandakini, who played the title role, gained more. The film, however, kept Rajiv in circulation. He worked in a few more films—Shukriya, Zalzala, to name two. Both flopped.

The actor took to direction with the ambitious Prem Granth (1996), a desi adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess Of The D’Ubervilles, hoping for a change in fortune. Following his death, Madhuri Dixit, who played the lead in Prem Granth tweeted, “…It was a difficult subject which he handled with great maturity though it was his first film. Remembering the wonderful moments we shared.”

But again, the film was a commercial failure. Rajiv Kapoor remained a promise unfulfilled.
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BOMBAY TIMES (February 10, 2021)

Actor-filmmaker Rajiv Kapoor, the youngest son of legendary Raj Kapoor, passed away on Tuesday. Neetu Kapoor, wife of late actor Rishi Kapoor, was the first to confirm the news on Instagram. She wrote, “RIP” alongside a picture of her brother-in-law. The actor, who was 58, reportedly suffered a massive heart attack, following which he was rushed to a hospital closest to his residence in Chembur. However, he was declared dead on arrival. Lovingly called Chimpu in his family, he was the youngest among the siblings, which includes Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, sisters, Ritu Nanda and Rima Jain. Elder sister Ritu Nanda passed away in January 2020 and brother Rishi Kapoor breathed his last in April the same year.

Rajiv Kapoor made his acting debut in 1983 with the film, Ek Jaan Hain Hum. He was largely associated with films that had good music following the success of his debut film, which included Zabardast (1985) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), which was Raj Kapoor’s last directorial venture. Rajiv Kapoor’s last film as a lead hero was in Zimmedaar (1990). He then made a switch to production with Henna, directed by Randhir Kapoor and featuring Rishi Kapoor. In 1996, he made his feature directorial debut with Prem Granth, starring Rishi Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit-Nene. He also produced the Rishi Kapoor-directed 1999 romance drama, Aa Ab Laut Chalen.

The actor-filmmaker reportedly shot for Ashutosh Gowariker’s film Toolsidas Junior, starring Sanjay Dutt in the lead, recently. It would have marked his return to films as an actor after more than two decades.

Lata Mangeshkar was among the celebrities who took to social media to express their grief. The legendary singer, who’s close to the Kapoor family and an intrinsic part of their films’ music, tweeted: “Mujhe abhi pata chala ki Raj Kapoor sahab ke chote bete, guni abhineta Rajiv Kapoor ka aaj swargwas hua. Sunke mujhe bahut dukh hua.Ishwar unki aatma ko shanti pradan kare yehi meri prarthana.”

Ranbir Kapoor and his mother, Neetu Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor with mother Babita Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor, Chunky Panday were seen heading to the Kapoor residence at Chembur to pay their last respects to Rajiv Kapoor.


Rishi Kapoor had tweeted this family picture on Mother’s Day in 2019; Seen in the picture are (L-R) Rishi, Rajiv and Randhir Kapoor with Krishna Kapoor