Meet the Kapoors

IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

A legacy where the artistically superior meets the commercially viable, and yet delivers...

One is the son of a retired college principal while the other is the son of one of the finest theatre personalities of India. One topped engineering in Delhi and then pursued acting while the other dreamt of becoming an actor for as long as he can remember. One has barely ever shaken a leg on-screen while the other has taken dance lessons from Shiamak Davar. But one aspect that is common to both these fine actors is their ability to deliver stellar performances and the knack to better the same with each movie. Yes, this is the father and son duo of Pankaj Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor.

Having completed his engineering with first rank from New Delhi in 1973, Pankaj Kapoor joined the prestigious National School of Drama in 1976, where he bagged the Best Actor Award in his batch. After doing theatre for four years, his silver-screen break came with Arohan, after which he grabbed the role of Mahatama Gandhi’s secretary, Pyarelal in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. He then acted in a variety of films like Kundan Shah’s comedy classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s suspense thriller Khamosh, Shyam Benegal’s Mandi, Mohan Joshi’s Hazir Ho, Mrinal Sen’s Khandhar, and then came his much talked about characterisation of an educated cross-border terrorist in Roja. He also did a handful of television series that he is probably remembered most for, like Karamchand and recently as Musaddi Lal from Office Office. In the days when parallel cinema was at its peak, in 70s-80s, actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Farukh Sheikh and Pankaj Kapoor carved a niche for themselves. This versatile actor stayed true to his roots in theatre by acting in and directing more than 74 plays and serials. But with Raakh, he bagged what he claims his dearest award of all, his first National Award in 1989.


This was followed by one of his most satirical roles with his bewildering portrayal of a scientist in Ek Doctor Ki Maut, which fetched him his second National Award in 1991 and the third came in 2004 for his depiction of a don in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool. To portray the roles that this legend has portrayed on-screen is a dream of any new generation actor. And what has come to be expected of Pankaj Kapoor is… everything! But, if one may ask, is being a legend, hereditary? For Pankaj’s consistent strife for the untouched and for the impossible and his knack of making the imperfect perfect, can all be seen in Shahid’s endeavours as well. From being a perfectionist to understanding time’s criticality, Shahid has all too well inherited his father’s professionalism. He started out with T.V. commercials, music videos and also made an appearance as a back-up dancer in Subhash Ghai’s Taal.

In a time when established actors go to unthinkable lengths to give their kids a great launch, we asked Pankaj Kapoor whether it is easy for these star kids to break into Bollywood. “Nothing is easy,” he said after a moment’s thought. “Not for an outsider or for star kids. Being a star kid makes it easy to get an opportunity to act while success is governed by your own hard work, individual abilities and by your destiny. The most successful in this line are all from outside – Dev Anand, Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan etc.”

On being probed about the challenges created by expectations for actors like Shahid, he was quick to point out, “If one is born of certain parents, people are going to expect you to come up to their standard and certainly become better than them. It then becomes a challenge and an inspiration.” So true are these words in his and Shahid’s case. But is this another Kapoor clan in the making? “I think this thought is so ridiculous. I treat myself, my family and children as individuals in their own right. If you are talking about the other Kapoors, then they have been here for four generations. Let’s all survive on our own abilities and merits,” reasons Pankaj.

But if it is just about getting the initial opportunity, then one might wonder why children of acclaimed actors take up acting naturally. “I cannot comment on this, as my family was not into films, but as for Shahid, the only help he got was the knowledge about how this industry works and the rest was for him to figure out through first-hand experience.”

So here it is. The man who never basks in his glory and is almost always restless to better his best. Never treating awards as anything more than mere milestones. Always his own best critic. Probably this is the rarest gift a father can give to his son – the gift of a legacy.

B&E edit bureau: Ashish Pratap Singh with inputs from Prasidha Menon

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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