Rajat Kapoor

Last updated

Rajat Kapoor
Rajat Kapoor in 2014.jpg
Rajat Kapoor at the International Film Festival of India 2014
Born
Occupations
  • Actor
  • filmmaker
  • playwright
Years active1989–present
Spouse
Meenal Agrawal
(m. 1996)
Children2

Rajat Kapoor is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. [1]

Contents

Early life and career

Rajat Kapoor was born in Delhi, India and grew up in Old Delhi. [2] He mainly focused on acting at first. In 1983 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi, later in 1985 moving to Pune to attend the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). [1]

Kapoor started out in Parallel Cinema making his debut in the 1989 Kumar Shahani film Khayal Gatha . When he had trouble finding acting jobs in the 1990s, Kapoor began writing and directing shorts. He made his full-length directorial debut with Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One (1997), which had Irrfan Khan and Naseeruddin Shah in minor roles. [1]

Film career

In 2001, Kapoor got his big mainstream break-in Dil Chahta Hai , which starred Aamir Khan, as Preity Zinta's character's uncle. He received international attention in Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding in which he played an abusive uncle. Since then, he has written, directed, and appeared in many films including Corporate , Bheja Fry , and also as Muhammad Ali Jinnah in a UK television film The Last Days of the Raj in 2007. In 2003, he wrote and directed the independent film Raghu Romeo which he financed by sending e-mail requests for money to his friends. Although it was not a box office success, the film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Kapoor then directed and starred in Mixed Doubles , a film that deals with Swinging in contemporary Mumbai. [1] In 2008 he directed a Sleeper hit called Mithya. He was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actor for Siddharth: The Prisoner at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In the year 2010, he has also starred in a Bengali movie Iti Mrinalini opposite Konkona Sen directed by Bengali film writer Aparna Sen. Kapoor frequently collaborates with actors Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey.[ citation needed ]

Apart from films, Kapoor hosts the tri-weekly chat show Lounge telecasted by NDTV Good Times. [3] He also worked in television shows, including Rishtey which was aired on Zee TV in the episode 'Milan'. [4] Tired of pitching his stories to investors, Kapoor reached out to his friend Chet Jainn, founder of the crowdfunding platform goCrowdera.com to raise initial seed fund for his next film called "RkRkay". [5] [6] [7] [8] The "RkRkay" crowdfunding campaign went on to raise over ₹35,00,000. [9]

In October 2018, Kapoor was accused of sexual harassment by two women during the Me Too movement, following which he apologised. His film Kadakh was dropped from the 20th MAMI Film Festival due to the allegations. [10]

He worked in Scam 1992 as an investigating officer. [11]

Personal life

Kapoor married Meenal Agarwal, a photographer-production designer in 1996 [12] and has two children, a daughter Rabia and a son Vivan. [1]

Kapoor is an atheist, and he has said he believes God is a man-made concept. [13]

Allegations of sexual harassment

In October 2018, Kapoor was accused of sexual harassment by two different women. One, a journalist, said that he made inappropriate comments during a telephone interview. [14] Following these accusations, Kapoor apologised on Twitter, saying "“I am sorry from the bottom of my heart – and sad that I was the cause of this hurt to another human being.” [15]

Awards and recognition

Kapoor is a three time National Award winner, first for his 26-minute non-feature documentary, Tarana, then for his short, Hypnothesis, and after that for Raghu Romeo in Best Feature Film in Hindi section. [16]

Filmography

YearFilmFunctioned AsNotes
DirectorProducerScreenwriterActorRole
1989 Khayal Gatha YesSeveral characters Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics)
Premiered at Rotterdam Film Festival
1994TaranaYesNational Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film

National Film Award for Best Cinematography

1996HypnothesisYes National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film
1997Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus OneYesYes
2001 Dil Chahta Hai YesMahesh
Monsoon Wedding YesTej Puri
2003 Raghu Romeo YesYes National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
Mudda: The IssueYesHarphool Singh
2004 Tum YesVinod Gupta
2005DhadkaneinYes
Kisna: The Warrior Poet YesPrince Raghuraj
Chehraa Yes
2006 Mixed Doubles YesYesYesVinod
Corporate YesVinay Sehgal
Yun Hota To Kya Hota YesUS Consulate Officer
Bombay SkiesYesAnandShort film
Anuranan YesAmit BannerjeeSimultaneously shot in Hindi and Bengali
2007The Last Days of the RajYesMuhammad Ali JinnahTV film
Bheja Fry YesRanjeet Thadani
Apna Asmaan YesDr. Sen
Hamlet: The Clown PrinceYesPlay
Khoya Khoya Chand YesPrem Kumar
2008 Mithya YesYes
Krazzy 4 YesRavi K. Sanyal
Via Darjeeling YesRonodeep 'Rono' Sen
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na YesMahesh Pariyar
Hulla YesJanardhan
Dasvidaniya YesRajiv Jhulka
2009 I M 24 YesShubendu Roy
Ek Tho Chance Yes
Siddharth: The Prisoner YesSiddharth Roy
Teree Sang YesBarrister Mohit Puri
Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi? YesYesYesRahul Kapoor
2010 Rann YesNaveen Shankalya
That Girl in Yellow Boots YesMan Who Steps Out of ElevatorPremiered in South Asian International Film Festival 2010
Pappu Can't Dance Saala YesPalashPremiered in South Asian International Film Festival 2010
...And Once Again YesRishi
Iti Mrinalini YesSiddhartha Sarkar
Phas Gaye Re Obama YesOm Shastri
2011Jo Dooba So Paar: It's Love In Bihar!YesSuperintendent of Police
Nothing Like LearYesPlay
2012 Agent Vinod Yes ISI chief Lt-Gen Iftekhar Ahmed
Fatso! YesYes
The Owner Yes
10ml LOVE YesGhalib
Midnight's Children YesAadam Aziz
2013Carpet BoyYesEhsaan Khan
2014 Ankhon Dekhi YesYesYesRishiWon – Star Screen Award for Best Story
Won - Filmfare Award for Best Story
Won - Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics)
2015 Drishyam YesMahesh Deshmukh
X: Past Is Present YesK
2016 Kapoor & Sons YesHarsh KapoorNominated - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
Mantra YesKapil Kapoor
2017Rat Race - Ek Andhi DaudYesAkhilShort film
2018 Pari YesProfessor Quasim Aali [17]
Mulk YesDanish Javed [18]
2020 Kadakh YesYesYesAuthor Rahul
2022 Gehraiyaan YesJitesh
RK/RKay YesYesYesRK / Mahboob
Drishyam 2 YesMahesh Deshmukh [19]
2023 Anur YesIAS Loshit ModliarAssamese film [20]

Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa is the upcoming movie of Rajat kapoor.

Television

YearTitleRoleLanguagePlatform
1994-1998JunoonPappuHindi Doordarshan
1999-2000GubbareSharadHindi Zee TV
2000-2003 Gharwali Uparwali (one episode only)Advertising Agency BossHindi Star Plus
2005C.I.D (two episodes only)TanujHindi Sony TV
2008Gateway To Hollywood [21] Judge Hindi Sony TV
2014-2015EverestRamesh RungtaHindiStar Plus
2017-2019 The Good Karma Hospital Amit NambeesanEnglish ITV
2020 Code M Col. Suryaveer ChauhanHindi ALTBalaji/Zee5
Shobdo Jobdo SougataBengaliHoichoi
Scam 1992 K. MadhavanHindi SonyLIV
2021 Call My Agent: Bollywood Montie BahlHindi Netflix
2022 Tanaav [22] Jagjit MalikHindi SonyLIV
2023 Jehanabad - Of Love & War Shivanand SinghHindi SonyLIV
2024 Lootere Captain A.K. SinghHindi Disney+ Hotstar

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References

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