Film producer Boney KapoorSurinder Kapoor, whose father was a distant relative of actor Prithviraj Kapoor, shared a close bond with the legendary actor-filmmaker. Raj Kapoor. A century before Raj’s birth, in an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, Boney shared several anecdotes about the legend’s professionalism and the life lessons he learned from him.
Talking about Raj Kapoor, Boney says, “To begin with, he is the only filmmaker-actor-director-producer-editor who has spanned five decades and delivered a blockbuster in every decade. He has caught trends, created trends and changed with time. . He only used to eat, drink and sleep. There is no one like him. He grew with every decade, and that made him a legend Rog, Bobby, was different and a lot ahead of his time. A lot of his ideas are now my ideas.”
‘I learned the art of filmmaking from Raj Kapoor’
Boney Kapoor said that she learned a lot from Raj Kapoor. “I have not directed the film, but as a producer I am involved in every aspect of the film making with complete freedom of the director. I always become their first Assistant Director (AD) before starting the shoot. As he is a complete filmmaker, I learned the art of filmmaking from Raj Kapoor,’ he says.
Not just professionally, Boney is also bonding with Raj personally. “I had a very close and loving relationship with him. After watching my first film ‘Hum Panch’, he said, ‘You will be in charge of Kapoor’s first branch. We discussed not only professional but also personal matters. He was my mentor. He contributed to my development in many ways. He was my God. I took it for granted that even if I achieved one percent of what he had, I would achieve it.
He adds, “We were like friends and I was also his student. He gave me that love and respect. I was very close to him. There are so many things we’ve talked about that I’ll never say. I used to consider him as my God, ‘Mere Bhagwan Raj Kapoor Hain.’ I stared at him. I will be forever indebted to him.”
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She was known as Cinderella in Raj Kapoor’s household
Boney Kapoor mentioned that she was known as Cinderella in Raj Kapoor’s house. “We lived in the same neighborhood in Chembur. Sometimes he used to park his car waiting for me to come from office. Then we used to eat together and gossip till 4-5 in the morning. In their house I was known as Cinderella. Dabboo and Neetu used to call me by that name because Cinderella used to come out only at midnight.
Raj Kapoor wanted to honor Sridevi
Raj Kapoor shares how he wants to honor his wife and actor Sridevi On receiving an award, Boney Kapoor tells us, “We attended the last function before he left for Delhi and finally it was Mr. India’s silver jubilee. I wanted to give him the award but he insisted on giving it to Sridevi. He said, ‘I’ll give it to her.’ Gave him the award. He made sure he sat at the same table where he was sitting. He admitted to me that he wanted to film ‘Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol’.
The highs and lows of Raj Kapoor
Boney Kapoor revealed that Raj Kapoor also went through highs and lows and Mera Naam Joker was a film where he “banked a lot on it, but it didn’t do well initially.” “Afterwards, it started doing well. This re-round was a money spinner. He re-edited the film. A person who likes to drink would give up drinking when the film reached its final stages. He didn’t touch alcohol during that period, until the copy came out. He spent the entire post-production period without alcohol. I was the privileged person he shared his most expensive wine with, so I know this very well.”
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Surya Sahiba The story behind Surya
Boney shared an anecdote about Kapoor’s last film Ram Teri Ganga Maili. “During dinner he was working on Ram Teri Ganga Maili and played two songs he had recorded. The music director was Ravindra Jain. They played Sun Sahiba Sun and Raj Kaka showed the entire movement of how the song should be portrayed and it has not been recorded yet. When he left, he just said before going to the office, ‘Let’s meet in the morning,’ he says, ‘He woke up and we discussed the song. I said that the first song will be a blockbuster song. He said, ‘Son, you are right.’ Then for four and a half hours he told me the entire script and the plan he had made for this film. I told him it would be the biggest hit of his career.
When the legend passed away
Boney Kapoor says he didn’t even want to see his ‘hero’ Raj Kapoor in his last moments. “When I visited him in Delhi when he was in ICU, I didn’t want to go in and see him because he is my hero and I didn’t want to see him like that. Finally, when his body came to Bombay, he forced me. I didn’t want to do any posturing, so I stayed away. Whatever. , his entire family was present to perform the last rites.”
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