Rajiv Kapoor (25 August 1962 9 February 2021) was an Indian actor, film producer, film director and a member of the

Kapoor family The Kapoor family is a prominent Indian show business family with at least four generations of the family over years being active in the Hindi film industry. Numerous members of the family, both (biological) and those who have married into th ...

, best known for his lead role in ''

Ram Teri Ganga Maili ''Ram Teri Ganga Maili'' () is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film co-written and directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars Rajiv Kapoor and Mandakini (actress), Mandakini. The music was composed by Ravindra Jain. It was the last film ...

''. He was the youngest son of

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

, a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

actor-director-producer. His elder brothers

Randhir Kapoor Randhir Kapoor (born 15 February 1947) is a retired Indian actor, film producer and director who worked in Hindi cinema. Part of the Kapoor family, he is the son of actor–filmmaker Raj, grandson of actor Prithviraj and the brother of a ...

and

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Kapoor (4 September 1952 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director, and producer who worked in Hindi films. In a career spanning 50 years, he is regarded as one of the most successful and accomplished actors in Hindi cinema. ...

were also successful Bollywood actors. Actors

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. Kapoor is considered one of the greatest and most s ...

and

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Hindi films. He is considered as one of the greatest and most successful acto ...

were his uncles.

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

was his paternal grandfather and

Trilok Kapoor Trilok Kapoor (11 February 1912 23 September 1988) was an Indian actor and a member of the Kapoor family who worked in Bollywood films. He was the younger brother of actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Early and personal life Born in the Kapoor Haveli i ...

was his paternal great-uncle.

Career

Kapoor made his debut opposite fellow debutante

Divya Rana Divya Rana is a former Bollywood actress most noted for her role in Raj Kapoor's ''Ram Teri Ganga Maili''. Divya began her career with the film ''Ek Jaan Hain Hum'' (1983) opposite Raj Kapoor's youngest son Rajiv Kapoor. Then she was selected ...

in ''Ek Jaan Hain Hum'' in 1983. He played the leading role in his father

's last directorial venture ''

'' in 1985. He acted in several other films, the most notable ''

Aasmaan ''Aasmaan'' is a 1984 Bollywood movie starring Rajiv Kapoor, Tina Munim, Divya Rana and Mala Sinha. It was directed by Tony Juneja. Rajiv Kapoor plays a double role in the film as Kumar (as positive character) and lookalike Chandan Singh (as ...

'' (1984), '' Lover Boy'' (1985), '' Mera Saathi'' (1985), ''

Zabardast ''Zabardast'' (meaning "''Fantastic''" in Hindi) is a 1985 Indian Hindi action film directed by Nasir Hussain, with his nephew Aamir Khan as assistant director, and produced by Mushir-Riaz. The film stars Sanjeev Kumar, Sunny Deol, Jaya Prada, ...

'' (1985), and '' Hum To Chale Pardes'' (1988). His penultimate film appearance was in the 1990 film '' Zimmedaaar'', after which he turned to producing and directing. With legendary actors

Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...

and

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (; born 10 October 1954), better known by her mononymous stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in mo ...

, Kapoor also acted in the film ''

Aag Ka Darya (; ''River of Fire'') is a landmark historical Urdu-language novel written by Qurratulain Hyder providing context to the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two nation-states. It has been described as "one of the Indian Subcontinent's ...

'', which was completed in 1991 but remains unreleased. After his father's death, Rajiv Kapoor assumed the role of producer for the popular film ''

Henna Henna is a reddish dye prepared from the dried and powdered leaves of the henna tree. It has been used since at least the ancient Egyptian period as a hair and body dye, notably in the temporary body art of mehndi (or "henna tattoo") resulti ...

'' in 1991, which his older brother Randhir directed. In 1996, Rajiv made his own directorial debut with the commercial failure '' Prem Granth'', which starred his brother

and

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (Maiden and married names, née Dixit, ; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress and television personality. She has appeared in Madhuri Dixit filmography, over 70 Hindi films. Praised by critics for her performances and danc ...

. He also ventured into television, producing the serial ''Vansh'', which aired on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

from 1995 to 1996. Three years later, he was one of the producers of ''

Aa Ab Laut Chalen ''Aa Ab Laut Chalen'' (translation: ''Come, let's go back'') is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Rishi Kapoor. The film stars Akshaye Khanna, Aishwarya Rai and Rajesh Khanna in lead roles. This is the only film dire ...

'', directed by his brother Rishi. This would be the final film he worked on for over 20 years. He was set to make a comeback to acting after 30 years with his appearance in the movie '' Toolsidas Junior'', which completed filming shortly before his death and was finally released on 21 May 2022.

Personal life

In 2001, he married architect Aarti Sabharwal, who was working as a paralegal at a law firm in

Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. They divorced in 2003. The couple had no children.

Death

Kapoor was staying at his brother Randhir's place when he had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

during the early hours of 9 February 2021. Randhir rushed him to Inlaks Hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival. He was 58 years old.

Filmography

Actor: * ''Ek Jaan Hain Hum'' (1983) ... Vikram Saxena * ''

'' (1984) ... Kumar / Chandan Singh (Double Role) * '' Mera Saathi'' (1985) ... Shyam * ''

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

'' (1985) ... Amar * ''

'' (1985) ... Ravi Kumar / Tony * ''

'' (1985) ... Narendra Sahai "Naren" * '' Lover Boy '' (1985) ... Kishan / Kanhaiya (Double Role) * ''Preeti'' (1986) * '' Zalzala '' (1988) ... Bhole * '' Hum To Chale Pardes'' (1988) ... Ajay Mehra * ''Shukriyaa'' (1988) ... Ajay Singh * '' Naag Nagin'' (1989) ... Kuber / Suraj * '' Zimmedaaar'' (1990) ... Inspector Rajiv Singh * '' Toolsidas Junior'' (2022)..... Toolsidas (Posthumous Release) Producer: * ''

'' (1991) (Executive Producer) * '' Prem Granth'' (1996) (Executive Producer) *''Vansh'' (1995-1996) (Producer) * ''

'' (1999) (Producer) Editor: * ''

'' (1999) * '' Prem Granth'' (1996) Second Unit Director or Assistant Director: * ''

Prem Rog ''Prem Rog'' () is a 1982 Hindi-language Musical film, musical Romance film, romantic Drama (film and television), drama directed and produced by Raj Kapoor, with screenplay written by Jainendra K. Jain (screenwriter), Jainendra Jain and Kamna C ...

'' (1982) * ''

Biwi-O-Biwi ''Biwi-O-Biwi'' is a 1981 romantic-comedy Hindi movie produced by Raj Kapoor and directed by Rahul Rawail. It stars Sanjeev Kumar, Randhir Kapoor, Poonam Dhillon, Yogeeta Bali in lead roles. The film's music is by R. D. Burman. The movie was c ...

'' (1981) Director: * '' Prem Granth'' (1996)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kapoor, Rajiv 1962 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Indian male actors Film directors from Mumbai Film producers from Mumbai Hindi-language film directors Indian male film actors Rajiv Male actors in Hindi cinema