Randhir Raj Kapoor (born 15 February 1947) is a former Indian actor, film producer and director who worked in Hindi cinema. He was an established actor of the 1970s and received two Filmfare Award nominations. However, his career declined in the early 1980s, following which he rarely appeared in films.
Randhir has been living apart from his wife since the 1980s. Part of the Kapoor family, he is the son of actor–filmmaker Raj, grandson of actor Prithviraj and the brother of late actors Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor. After working as a child artist in Shree 420 (1955), Kapoor made his acting and direction debut with a leading role in the family drama (1971), a moderate success at the box office. Subsequently, Kapoor's starring roles in the dramas Jeet (1972), Hamrahi (1974) and the romantic comedies (1972), Lafange (1975), Ponga Pandit (1975) and the multi-starrers such as Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972) and Haath Ki Safai (1974). His career failed to propel forward after 1985, after which he quit acting for over a decade. However, the Kapoor-directed blockbuster romantic drama Henna (1991), proved to be the most commercially successful film of the decade – earning him a Filmfare Award for Best Director nomination and was chosen as the Indian submission to the Oscar. In recent years, Kapoor has occasionally returned to films with his biggest commercial success, the ensemble comedy Housefull (2010), which earned over ₹1 billion (US$15 million) worldwide.
Randhir is married to actress Babita since 1971, with whom he has two daughters, actresses Karisma and Kareena Kapoor. The couple separated in 1988, but reconciled in 2007, after living separately for several years.
Early years and background
Kapoor was born on 15 February 1947 in Karunakaran Maternity home, Matunga, Bombay, Bombay Presidency, India (now known as Mumbai, Maharashtra) to Punjabi Hindu parents. His family moved from their Kapoor Haveli in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) to Mumbai, before the partition of India, for acting careers. His family originally belonged to Samundri in present-day Punjab, Pakistan. He belongs to the famous Kapoor family who have been part of the Hindi film industry since the late 1920s. He is the eldest son of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and his wife Krishna Kapoor. He had two brothers, late Rajiv and late Rishi, and two sisters, Rima and late businesswoman Ritu. He is one of the grandsons of actor and producer Prithviraj Kapoor, and grandnephew of the actor Trilok Kapoor. His paternal uncles, Shammi and Shashi Kapoor were both actors. Also, his maternal uncles, Prem Nath, Rajendra Nath and Narendra Nath and were all involved in Hindi cinema. Actors Prem Krishen and Kailash Nath, are his maternal cousins, while actors Aditya, Karan, Sanjana and Kunal are his paternal cousins. Actor Prem Chopra is his uncle-by-marriage (Krishna's sister Uma's husband). Actors Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor are his cousins once removed. His nephews include actors Ranbir Kapoor, Aadar Jain and Armaan Jain, and businessman Nikhil Nanda.
Career
Kapoor first appeared as a child artist in Shree 420 (1955) and Do Ustad (1959). He became an assistant director with the film Jhuk Gaya Aasman (1968), starring Rajendra Kumar in 1968. Randhir Kapoor made his acting and directorial debut with (1971), which also starred his wife, father, and grandfather. The film, produced under the R.K banner, was an average success.
After his debut, he acted in three consecutive hit films, all released in 1972: Jeet, Raampur Ka Lakshman and . was one of the biggest hits of that year. Raampur Ka Lakshman costarred Shatrughan Sinha and Rekha, and was directed by Manmohan Desai, with music by R.D. Burman. Randhir and Babita were paired together in Jeet, after their marriage. Jeet was remake of the Tamil film En Annan starring M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa in the lead roles. After the success of Jeet, Randhir decided to do a remake of another film of MGR. Then MGR's hit 1971 film Rickshawkaran was remade in Hindi in 1973 as Rickshawala with Randhir as the hero opposite the new heroine Neetu Singh, by director K. Shankar, but the film flopped though its music was popular. In 1974 he had 2 big hits – Hamrahi and the two-hero film Haath Ki Safai.