‘As a director, Raj Kapoor took risks…but his acting was stylised’

Talking to director Rahul Rawail, who started his career as an assistant to Raj Kapoor, on Sunday, Ranbir unpacked the cinematic legacy of Raj Kapoor, whose birth centenary is being celebrated during the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. Ranbir also announced that a festival of Raj Kapoor films will take place from December 13 to 15 across India and restored versions of his classic will be screened.

Popularly known as ‘showman’, Raj Kapoor directed and acted in multiple landmark Hindi movies including Shree 420 (1955), Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Sangam (1964) and Mera Naam Joker (1970). After the box-office debacle of Mera Naam Joker, he directed Bobby (1973), a love story featuring Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia. In the years that followed, he directed several successful movies like Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Prem Rog (1982) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985).

What Ranbir believes connected with the audience are the “characters in his movies and stories”. Ranbir said: “Raj Kapoor explored different themes at different times. Awaara speaks about casteism while Shree 420 was about greed. Later films of his spoke about Indian society and ethics.”

Mentioning that he admires his grandfather “more as a director than actor”, Ranbir picked Shree 420 and Sangam as his favourite movies. “As a director, he took risks and pushed the boundaries. His acting, however, was stylised. However, Jagte Raho (1956), in which he plays the lead (it is directed by Amit Maitra and Sombhu Mitra), spoke to me when I watched it while studying in a film school in New York,” the Brahmāstra actor said. For his titular character in Barfi (2012), Ranbir says he drew inspiration from his grandfather.

During the conversation, many of those present in the packed Kala Academy auditorium expressed their love for the evergreen songs in Raj Kapoor’s movies. Responding to that, Ranbir said that was the era when several geniuses, such as Shankar-Jaikishan, Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar and Shailendra, created music together. The first song, the actor revealed, he made his daughter Raha listen to is ‘Kisi kee muskuraahaton pe ho nisaar…’ from Anari (1959).