RADG KAPOOR

Indian actor and film director. Acted in the films "Fire", "Rogue", "Under cover of darkness," "Mr. 420" and others to make a film: "My name is clown," "truth, holiness and beauty," "Love disease, etc.

Raj Kapoor was born on December 14, 1924 into an artistic family. His grandfather was also an actor. Father Prithviradzh Kapoor, was the owner and principal director of the famous theater in Bombay, the Prithvi-tietrs. Kapur senior managed to convey a love for acting, and his sons (the two brothers Raja - Shammi and Shashi).

At the scene, Raj first came out in six years. "Prithvi-tietrs" became a genuine school of excellence for future stars. And while in the company were about a hundred actors, perhaps, it is to his sons Prithviradzh was presenting the most stringent requirements. In the theater Raju had to be not only an actor but also a stagehand, lighting and janitor. By the age of fourteen he had an enviable professionalism and experience of theatrics.

Unlike his father, Raj, his future is tied to the art of cinema, which lured him in 1935 when he made his debut in a tiny role in the film "Revolution. " Soon the young Kapoor was the assistant director at the studio "Bombay Tokiz. At the same time he continues to work in the theater as an actor and illustrator.

In 1945, in Bombay, he met a charming Nargis. Raj came to the house of actress Dzhaddanbay, which on behalf of the father had a talk about a theater project. On the threshold appeared amazingly beautiful girl. This was daughter Dzhaddanbay - Nargis. "Our meeting was preordained from above," - said later, Raj. His tempestuous affair with Nargis formed the basis of folk legends .

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In 1946, Kapoor poses as a director his first film - "Fire". He himself plays the main role, while his partner stands eighteen Nargis. Support for the spectators and the approval of critics have strengthened it in mind to organize their own studio.

Employees in "Raj Kapoor Films" at first it was a little bit. Shortages of personnel and resources compensated enthusiasm. "During the filming of working around the clock, often forget about food and sleep," - remember Raj Kapoor. Artists, composers, workers, part-time, participated in the crowd, sometimes played a small role. Raj himself was a director, screenwriter, producer, administrator and hero films. In all helped him Nargis.

Following the "Fire" was released the film "The rainy season". How to write an Indian critics "on the screen, Raj and Nargis blinding light illuminated the world - it seemed a million light bulbs could not shine so brightly!" For some time the emblem was a picture of the studio Raj Kapoor with a musical instrument in his hands and bending over These Nargis.

Kudos to Kapoor came with his third directorial work. This was the legendary "Rogue".

For a long time the film selected artists. Especially difficult was finding an actor for the role of judges Ragunata, the father of Raja. As a result, managed to persuade to withdraw Prithviradzha.

Work on the "vagabond" lasted nearly three years: had to seriously examine the Indian classical music and dance, to build a complex, expensive decorations. Some scenes were shot in the pavilions of large well-equipped studios.

Money to complete the picture is not enough. Then Kapoor and Nargis started in films of other film companies.

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Work on the "bum" was continued.

In 1951, the film appeared on the screens in India and after the resounding success began its journey in the world. The picture won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Small studio under Bombay began visiting tourists from different countries. About Raj Kapoor at the time a lot has been written.

"I have not treated kindly, not warmed, and for me there is no shelter. And for me there is no shelter anywhere. Already very nepriyuten white light. Rogue, I . . . "- sung in the movie Raj Kapoor. His character - a boy from the slums would be an honest man. Circumstances and people forced him to steal. However, the end was suddenly happy.

In this story, adorned by Indian custom weight and heart-rending details of incredible coincidences, Raj Kapoor breathed life with their talent. His failures (tramp), with its hedonistic, undying optimism was naive mischievously, swift, evasive, yet humanly unsecure. Singer, dancer and acrobat witty Raj Kapoor, who admired his surprise stunts, comic temperament, fantasy, laughing, talking about serious and bitter.

In 1955, the audience awarded him the title of best director of India for the formulation of the satirical comedy "Mr. 420". This film, a kind of version of "Tramp" (also in two series, with plenty of songs and dances), obtained from the Bengali Association of Cinema Journalists nine prizes.

Next picture - "Under cover of night" (1956) - a tragicomic story of a peasant, whose rich crooks living in a luxurious house, taken for a thief who caused a standing ovation at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary (1957). Raj Kapoor, screenwriter and leading man, and brought to Bombay "Crystal Globe" - the highest award of the festival.

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Indian actor often compared to Chaplin. Clothing great Charlie, shuffling gait, shy awkward gestures, vulnerability in his eyes - all this acted very strongly, causing viewers love. "World of Raj Kapoor resembles Chaplin′s world with its unhappy hero, a cunning and ingenuous, with its well fed police, whiskered gentlemen rich and beautiful, always close to fainting ladies," - wrote the French critic and film historian Georges Sadoul.

Still Kapoor has found his hero - Raj, although some features of resemblance with the character of Chaplin, significantly differed from him. Kapoor managed to create an image, which absorbed the best features of the Indian national character, and, moreover, unlike Charlie, Raj never falls into the absurd or ridiculous situation: he is young, handsome, full of energy and charm . . . This is not imitation (director "Tramps" not seen the first film Charlie Chaplin), but, as said the same Sadoul, rather, "similarity due to temperament. "

Unusual alliance Kapoor and Nargis, was destined to disintegrate. One day, almost as suddenly as she appeared in life Kapoor, Nargis had disappeared from it. She was married, she said farewell forever to the light of Jupiter.

With the departure of Nargis in the creation of the actor and director ended an era. I started a new one. In the studio became famous Kapoor appeared a type of star - a plump and relaxed Padmini. Of course, before this love passion was the basis of Raj Kapoor films. But erotica has never spilled outward, it remains a deep undercurrent. The film "In a country where the Ganges flows" (1960) with Padmini in the lead role announced that henceforth the beginning of a sensual love stories told by Kapoor, prevails over the spiritual.

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Especially it is clearly felt in the late tape "True, the sanctity and beauty" (1978).

At the same time, Raj has gradually changed, and another of his "installation" of previous years - namely, social pointedness, that was, apparently, is logically inevitable. Kapoor himself once remarked that his movies - "child of the era of idealism, but with running time, this idealism was quickly disappearing. Approximately ten years after the film "In a country where the Ganges flows" exploded, another long-standing creative relationship, which is valued Kapoor - with screenwriter and director JA Abbas. The social orientation of the early tapes Kapoor - is in many ways it is his merit and initiative. As he told Abbas, they were two of the strange alliance: Kapoor - a believer, and he himself - an agnostic and a rationalist; Kapoor - vaguely progressive, but generally pretty apolitical, but Abbas - a staunch Marxist. But for all that the union was very effective. The reason, according to Abbas, was that "Raj Kapoor, while not himself an ideologist, was not subject allergic to the advanced ideas of others. On the contrary, feeling deep sympathy for the common man, it is these progressive and humanistic ideas perceived readily, provided that they do not hurt the film a genuinely popular. "

In Raja embodied many features of the Indian reality, and many features of national character. In Kapur viewers learned themselves, in his misadventures have seen their own adversities, aspirations, hopes. For all this they paid Raju unprecedented love. Actor had been given a special, oriental charm of giving birth to a desire to worship. I worshiped him, by the way, far beyond India. Many years ago, when the actress Padmini came to the USSR, the people there asked her the same question: "Do you know Raj Kapoor?" In China, Mao Zedong asked Prithviradzha Kapoor (father of Raja, the famous actor and producer, founder of the first professional theater in Hindi): "How is your son?" When the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin went to Bombay, he welcomed Raj Kapoor with the words: "Comrade Rogue.

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Iranians called him none other than the Honorable Raj Kapoor and assigned him to a Ph. D. , although the actor did not have higher education.

Raj appeared in youth usual "star" - with a constant image, a kind of mask. However, unlike the usual "stars", he age confidently and calmly turned to a variety of roles, even on the role of the elderly, without losing the sympathy of the audience. The reason is, obviously, the fact that Raj Kapoor was not only "star", but also beautiful, thin, highly professional actor.

In 1970 came the picture Kapoor "My name is clown. Conceived as a large-scale work, it is telling us about the amorous adventures of unsuccessful circus, where women are exploited as they can, and then inevitably drop. According to the plan Kapoor, it was supposed to be a comedy built around a classical theme clown single and therefore fairly autobiographical: Raj liked to present themselves in real life clown. In the original version of "Clown" included five large parts of heads. Where else is already in the midst of filming Raj Kapoor realized that only the first three chapters will take at least four hours of screen time. Not wanting to reduce them to reasonable levels, he adopted a "crazy" decision - the remaining two chapters make a new film, which will be the second series of "Clown".

However, just coming out on screens, "Clown" has failed. Kapoor took years to recover from the shock. Above the endless amorous adventures of the hero the audience simply mocked and insulted. Studio has suffered huge losses. On the second series could be no question.

The basis of the next movie, "Bobby", was used as a sentimental love story. " Bobby "was the culmination of a changed approach to the Kapoor film - said Abbas.

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- I do not consider myself the author of this film, even though my name and is in the credits. In my scenario, the young fisherman was present, a poor fisherman. But, given the urgent wishes of Kapoor, I had to then make a guy rich, leaving the poor girl. And as far as shooting, I discovered that the girl is becoming richer and richer. Kapoor passion "material values", a luxury movie changed so that the final version had nothing to do with my original.

"Bobby" was released in 1973 and brought record profits. But just then began to break up the old "team. " I went to a complete breakdown of Abbas, had committed suicide poet-lyricist Shailendra, who wrote for movies Kapoor simple, but surprisingly melodic verses, died suddenly of a composer Dzhankishan, left the studio longtime partner Kapoor Shankar. Happy times studio "Raj Kapoor Films" irretrievably fading.

Kapoor has managed, however, survive without long-term, experienced assistants. Proof of this - box-office success of films "muddy Ganges - River God" (1985) and "Love sickness" (1982). These tapes totally different sound than those that have brought glory Kapoor. From the poetic realism, he went into entertainment with benign, exciting display of a naked female body. Although sometimes the old spirit made itself felt. The fact that he has not disappeared completely, shows started, but was not yet completed, the picture "Hannah. " Thanks to her revived long to cancel union with Abbas. And, apparently, was revived erstwhile obsession, sense of purpose. Moreover, all the more boldly announced themselves as actors and directors of his sons Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv.

In 1988, Kapoor was awarded a prize named after D.

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Phalke (established in memory of the founder of Indian cinema, is the highest in the country kinonagrad). His joy is boundless. On the day award, May 2, he had some morning sickness. Yet, Raj goes to the ceremony.

With a smile Kapoor enters the Hall of Siri Fort. In a sign of special respect for the actor, President of India R. Venkataraman down from the podium to personally hand him the award. Thunder of applause. A minute later, the actor loses consciousness and falls - there was a severe asthma attack . . .

The windows Hospital, where dying artist, thousands of people were watching. Departed Master, whose fame as a joke he envied Jawaharlal Nehru, who was fond of repeating that Raj takes his popularity . . . And along with the death Kapoor ended an era of Indian cinema.

"No, Raj Kapoor is not dead - the newspapers - because great people do not die. They are immortal! Raj Kapoor will live forever in our hearts. "

Raj Kapoor starred in eighty films. He managed to not only win, but for many years to keep the audience sympathy. For decades, held on the crest of success in a country where every year on the screens out a few hundred new movies, not just a few. Raj Kapoor, uncrowned king of Indian screen, as he was known journalists, was one of the elect.