Throwback Gold: Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor And Jackie Shroff At Raj Kapoor's Birthday Party

Actor, producer and director Raj Kapoor, considered as the greatest showman of Indian cinema, would have celebrated his 100th birthday this December. The legendary actor, born in Peshawar had a remarkable career where he not only won people’s respect but also numerous prestigious awards. Recently, a throwback video from Kapoor’s 1987 birthday bash has surfaced online. Sadly, it was also his final celebration before his untimely demise in 1988 due to complications from asthma.

The rare footage features a star-studded gathering of yesteryear superstars, including Rishi Kapoor, Rima Kapoor Jain, Dimple Kapadia, Shashi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Raaj Kumar, Krishna Kapoor, Kabir Bedi, Saeed Jaffrey, Jeetendra, Mohsin Khan, Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Seshadri, Jackie Shroff, Karan Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Rekha, Rajendra Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Riddhima Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Vinod Mehra and Sunil Dutt.

The resurfaced video shows the glimpse of the bond shared between Kapoor and his Bollywood colleagues like Shashi, Raaj, Saeed, Shatrughan, Sunil, while Rekha, paid homage the icon by touching his feet and giving him a warm birthday hug. Meanwhile, the camaraderie between Ranbir, Riddhima and Kareena caught everyone’s attention. The three siblings are seen playing and interacting with their grandfather. The footage also captures the iconic stars joking, socializing and enjoying each other’s company, during the bash.

Meanwhile, Rishi Kapoor, who died in 2020 due to cancer, once spoke with The Print about his father Raj Kapoor and said, “People ask me where I learned acting if I went to a school or an institution. I tell them that there can never be a bigger institution than the Kapoors. Never did my father behave like he was my secretary or choose subjects for me. He said, ‘I have given this boy a break, and now he’s on his own; he will fall, he will get up, he will take care of himself.’ He said, ‘I’m your father, not your secretary.’ I have continued with that, with my son.”

At the age of 10 in 1935, Raj Kapoor made his debut in Hindi cinema with the film Inquilab. His breakthrough role came in the 1947 film Neel Kamal, where he starred opposite Madhubala. Throughout his career, Kapoor received numerous prestigious awards, including the Padma Bhushan in 1971, and in 1987, he was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Additionally, Kapoor even earned two nominations at the Cannes Film Festival for his films Awaara and Boot Polish.