“Happy birthday, dad! We shall always remember you…love!” wrote Rishi Kapoor – this is how the legendary actor Raj Kapoor’s son greeted his dad who is loved by millions even today.
Happy Birthday dad! We shall always remember you…….love! pic.twitter.com/mT38hpxTma
— Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) December 14, 2019
Raj Kapoor is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema. Here are some memorable lines from his movies that is remembered with great fondness even today.
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Kabhi kabhi puraane dino ki yaad … sehat ke liye bahut achchi hoti hai
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Sab kuch khuda se mang liya tujhko mangkar … uthte nahi hai haath mere is dua ke baad
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Roshni chand se hoti hai sitaron se nahi … dosti ek se hoti hai hazaron se nahi
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Duniya mein ek cheez sher-e-babbar se bhi zyada khatarnak aur darawani hai … aur woh hai gareebi aur bhookh
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Dukh tumne mujhe nahi diya hai … maine apne aap ko dukh diya hai
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Hum uss desh ke vasi hai … jis desh mein Ganga behti hai
Born at Kapoor Haveli in Peshawar to actor Prithviraj Kapoor– he was a member of the Kapoor family which has produced several Bollywood superstars.
Raj Kapoor received multiple accolades, including 3 National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards in India. The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award is named after Raj Kapoor. He was a two-time nominee for the Palme d’Or grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his films Awaara (1951) and Boot Polish (1954). His performance in Awaara was ranked as one of the top ten greatest performances of all time by Time magazine.[3] His films attracted worldwide audiences, particularly in Asia and Europe. He was called “the Clark Gable of the Indian film industry”.
Many of Raj Kapoor’s movies had a patriotic theme. His films Aag, Shree 420 and Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (In the country where the Ganges flows) celebrated the newly independent India, and encouraged film-goers to be patriots. Raj Kapoor commissioned these famous lyrics for Mera Joota Hai Japani, a song from the movie Shree 420:
- Mera joota hai Japani (My shoes are Japanese)
- Ye patloon Inglistani (These trousers are English)
- Sar pe lal topi Roosi (The red cap on my head is Russian)
- Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani (But still, however, my heart is Indian)
The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1971 for his contributions to the arts. India’s highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, was bestowed on him in 1987 by the Government of India.