When Raj Kapoor gave dad Prithviraj Kapoor a blank cheque to buy a luxury car, but he never cashed it

On Prithviraj Kapoor's 117th birth anniversary, here's recalling how he was overwhelmed after he got a blank cheque from Raj Kapoor to buy a car.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | November 3, 2023 08:29 AM IST

2 min read

Prithviraj Kapoor was the father of Raj Kapoor. (Photo: Express Archives)

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Prithviraj Kapoor, the first member of the Kapoor family who entered the entertainment business, was a part of the first ever talkie that was made in India, Alam Ara. He was also a part of one of the most renowned films that ever came out of Indian cinema, Mughal-e-Azam. And even though Prithviraj was an accomplished man, he was an immensely proud father as his son Raj Kapoor had set up his own studio, RK Studio, at the age of 24. So when his son gave him a blank cheque to buy a car of his choosing, the senior Kapoor was overwhelmed.

In the book The Prithviwallahs, co-written by Shashi Kapoor and Deepa Gahlot, Shashi narrated an incident where Raj, after becoming a star, wanted to gift his father something special and decided that his father should get a new car, as reported by BBC Hindi. Shashi shared that for years, Prithviraj would drive around in a 1938 Opel car as this was the car he had bought for himself when he started doing well in Bombay. Now, when Raj became a star, he gave his father a blank cheque so he could a car of his choice.

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But when it came to cashing the cheque, Prithviraj was just overcome with emotion. Shashi shared that their father wrote ‘With love’ in the amount section and never deposited the cheque. He shared that whenever anyone would come and see him, he would proudly show them that piece of paper.

Raj Kapoor also credited his father for giving him his first break as an actor. Raj, in many interviews shared that he was working as a clapper boy in the movies but in his father’s plays, he was hired as an actor. It was only after film directors in Mumbai saw him on stage that they gave him a break in movies.

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