Kapoor khandan is one of the most renowned celeb families in B-town. The family legacy of acting had started with the late veteran actor, Prithviraj Kapoor, and then it was passed on to his kids, Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, and Shashi Kapoor, which further went on and on. Raj Kapoor had three sons, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor who also followed in the same footsteps and had made a name for themselves in the Bollywood industry.
Talking about Rajiv Kapoor, he had made his Bollywood debut with the film, Ek Jaan Hain Hum in 1983. Apart from this, he had also given stellar performances in a few more films, including, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Aasmaan, Lover Boy, Zabardast and others. However, after a 30-year long gap in his acting career, Rajiv had worked in his last film, Toolsidas Junior co-starring, Dalip Tahil which was released on March 4, 2022, much after the former's sudden demise on February 9, 2021.
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In a recent interview with the ETimes, Dalip Tahil who co-starred with late actor, Rajiv Kapoor in the film, Toolsidas Junior, opened up about the latter's gap of about 30 years in his acting career in the context of nepotism. While mentioning Rajiv's condition while they were shooting on the sets of their film, Dalip revealed that the late actor had felt nervous when he was facing the camera after a long period of time. Dalip added that Rajiv had told him that even after being the son of Raj Kapoor and having everything in his life, everybody had forgotten him. It was then, with Dalip's immense support, that his close friend, Chimpu had regained his confidence. Dalip said:
“When I met him for the first time, he told me, 'Dalip, my hands are shaky. I am facing the camera after 30 years. I don’t know what to do. I am Raj Kapoor’s son, I have everything and yet I have nothing. Everybody has forgotten me, I don’t have work as a director, or as an actor.' I gave him a big hug and told him, ‘Chimpu, it is in you, back yourself and be yourself. Don’t think of anything and just go for it’. And I could see him gain confidence, scene after scene.”
Further, in the same conversation, Dalip Tahil pointed toward the case of nepotism in Bollywood. He mentioned that his friend, Rajiv Kapoor even after being the son of the legendary superstar, Raj Kapoor was not offered any work for more than 30 years and Chimpu used to say that people may had even forgotten about his existence. He added:
“To all those who say there is nepotism in the film industry, here’s legendary Raj Kapoor’s son, who gave a hit like ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ and still had no work for 30 years. I keep reading about nepotism everywhere, this should be a good example to those who think that there is only nepotism that can make your career in this film industry. I feel that this whole thing about being Raj Kapoor’s son was a double edged sword which could destroy you. Chimpu used to say people don’t even know that I exist. That can be very difficult for a person.”
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In the same conversation, Dalip also talked about Rajiv's super enthusiastic spirit that even after 30 years of gap in acting, he had nodded to act in a film. Sharing about the late Kapoor son's one problem in life, which was his lifestyle that needed to be controlled, but that the late actor had also improved and changed. However, the film, Toolsidas Junior, which was about to get released in 2020, was getting delayed as theatres were shut down, and this had given Rajiv a sort of depression. And soon after that, Rajiv had left for the heavenly abode in 2021 much before the film's release. Dalip concluded:
“Everybody who knows Chimpu knows that one of his issues was that his personal lifestyle needed to be in control. He had improved, he had changed and was determined to pick up his career after this film. It was supposed to release during the summer of 2020 but everything went haywire. He was depressed since the film was not releasing and theatres were shut. He passed away in 2021. I dedicate this film to him, it is a very tragic swansong.”
For the unversed, at the age of 58, Rajiv Kapoor had suffered a major heart attack on February 9, 2021, and was rushed to the Inlaks Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
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