Rajit Kapur (born 22 May 1963) is an
Indian film and theatre actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
in the 1996 film, ''
The Making of the Mahatma'' for which he won the
National Film Award for Best Actor. Other notable roles are as the protagonist Unni in the
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
film ''
Agnisakshi'', and the fictional detective
Byomkesh Bakshi in the eponymous ''
television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
'', directed by
Basu Chatterjee and broadcast on
Doordarshan. His debut film was ''
Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda'' (1992), directed by
Shyam Benegal.
Life
Rajit Kapur was born in
Amritsar
Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
, India on 22 May 1963 in a
Punjabi family.
[ He received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Sydenham College.]
Career
When Rajit Kapur was 12 years old, he acted in a children's TV drama on Doordarshan. After 10 years, while working as a stage manager, he acted in the TV series ''Ghar Jamai'', which was his first acting role in a TV series. The 1992 film titled '' Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda'' directed by Shyam Benegal was his debut film.[ Kapur starred in Deepti Naval's film titled '' Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish'' which was supposed to release in 2012 in India][ but was released on ]Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
in 2019. In 2022, Kapur acted in his first Punjabi language
Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...
film ''Birha – The Journey Back Home''. The short won the ‘Best film award’ at Amsterdam International Film Festival, Hollywood Shorts FEST, Los Angeles Film Awards (LAFA), New York Indian Film Festival, Calcutta International Cult Film Festival and at the Gangtok International Film Festival.[ 2023 saw the release of '' Mission Majnu'' and '' Mujib: The Making of a Nation'' and in both films he played the role of Pakistan's Prime Minister ]Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...
.
Filmography
Plays
* ''Love Letters''
* ''Class of '84''
* ''Larins Sahib''
* ''Are There Tigers in the Congo?''
* ''Mr. Behram''
* ''Six Degrees of Separation''
* ''Pune Highway''
* ''Me Kash and Cruise''
* ''Flowers''
* ''A Walk In The Woods''
* ''One on One Part 2''
* ''The Siddhus of Upper Juhu''
* ''Mahua'' (as director)
Television series
Awards
*1996: National Film Award for Best Actor - '' The Making of the Mahatma''
*1998: Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor - '' Agnisakshi''
*2010: Imagine India Film Festival, Spain, Award for Best Actor - '' Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapur, Rajit
1963 births
Living people
Punjabi Hindus
Male actors from Amritsar
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Indian male film actors
Best Actor National Film Award winners
University of Mumbai alumni