Raj Kapoor: Riddhima, Ranbir remembers the ‘big man with blue eyes’, their ‘doting grandfather’

Mumbai: To the film industry, he was the ‘Showman of Hindi Cinema’ but to actor Ranbir Kapoor and jewellery designer Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Raj Kapoor was a loving grandfather, the big man with blue eyes who used to bribe his grandchildren with caramel toffees in exchange for kisses on his cheek.

December 14, 2024, marks the birth centenary of Raj Kapoor, an actor, director, and producer whose 40-year career boasts of classics such as “Awara”, “Barsaat”, “Shree 420”, “Mera Naam Joker”, “Satyam Shivam Sundaram”, and “Ram Teri Ganga Maili”.

Recalling memories of her grandfather, even though they are a bit blurry as he passed away when she was seven, Riddhima said Raj Kapoor was always this affectionate figure who would spoil his grandkids.

“We used to barge into his room and raid his fridge because it was filled with chocolates and other goodies for us. We knew exactly what was kept there and he wouldn’t say anything to us. These are the few memories of him that I can never forget,” Riddhima, daughter of Raj Kapoor’s third child Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor, told PTI in an interview.

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Her younger sibling Ranbir said his memories of his grandfather are of “this big man with blue eyes”.

“When we would go to his house, he used to take us to his room where he would hide these caramel toffees in his fridge. He used to make all of us — Kareena, Karisma, my sister Riddhima, and myself — stand in a line and ask us to do a ‘salaam’, sing ‘Awara Hoon’ from his film ‘Awara’ and give him a kiss on his cheek.

“And, then we were bribed with caramel toffees. I got to know him more after I started understanding movies and what his contribution (to cinema) was,” the actor said during a session to celebrate Raj Kapoor’s 100th birth anniversary at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) last month.

In fact, Raj Kapoor’s blue eyes are what has stayed with his other two grandchildren as well.

Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, daughters of Raj Kapoor’s eldest child Randhir Kapoor and Babita Kapoor, spoke about the distinct blue colour of their grandfather’s eyes during an appearance on “The Great Indian Kapil Show”.

“Karisma was always his favourite grandchild because her eye colour matched that of Dadaji: The blue eyes. And also she was the first grandchild. So he was very excited,” Kareena said on the show.

“The interesting fact is after me, it was Taimur and then Raha, we all have the same eye colour as dadaji,” Karisma recalled.

Riddhima said they realised later that Raj Kapoor was much more than their loving grandfather.

“We didn’t even realise that our grandfather was a well-known, well-received man and that everybody loved him. We didn’t know he was this magnanimous, a superstar and a great filmmaker. We were very young to realise all those things. We only knew him as our doting grandfather.”

Ranbir said he would often use his “leverage” being the first grandson of his generation in the Kapoor family.

“I got a lot of love and attention. When my mom (Neetu Kapoor) used to fire me or shout at me, I used to call him (Raj Kapoor) up. Then, he used to call up my mom and fire her,” he recalled.

Riddhima too remembers manipulating her parents through her grandfather.

“Each time, my mother would correct me or my brother, we would call up our grandfather and say, ‘Mummy has said this’. He would then call up our mom and say, ‘Please don’t do this, don’t correct them. Let them do what they want.’ So, he used to spoil us, adore us, and pamper us.”

Back in the day, Riddhima said she and Ranbir used to spend most of their weekends at the family’s iconic bungalow Deonar Cottage in central Mumbai’s upmarket suburb Chembur.

“He used to take us to one of his favourite places, Udipi restaurant in Matunga for dosas and idlis. He would also take us to a club in Vashi called Big Splash, a pool which had water slides.

“He used to even cook for us and he was an amazing chef. Whenever he would travel abroad, he would bring me a tiara and for my brother, Ranbir, he would bring a suit… He was always so warm, kind, and loving,” she added.

Ranbir has a vivid memory of Raj Kapoor’s funeral when the entire Chembur Road was chock-a-block with people. The actor-filmmaker died on June 2, 1988, of complications related to asthma at the age of 63.

“He passed away when I was six. I didn’t know what death was, but we were at Deonar Cottage. All the children were playing upstairs, we were looking down at the garden, and we could just see a sea of people.

“I’ve never seen so many people in my life. I really understood that day, ‘Okay, this man has some standing, has some value. He’s done something. That’s why so many people have come to pay respects to him’,” he said.

When it comes to their grandfather’s films, they have a list of their favourites too. “Shree 420” (1955) and “Jagte Raho” (1956) are two of Ranbir’s choices.

“I love the story of a vagabond in ‘Shree 420’, somebody who has stars in his eyes, very hopeful, and how he makes it, how he deals with fame.”

For Riddhima, it’s “Sangam” (1964), followed by “Awara” (1951) and “Shree 420” (1955).

“I also liked ‘Mera Naam Joker’, we would be like, ‘Dada ji is a joker!’. It’s that kind of a film that you can watch over and over again… Just the other day, I watched ‘Mera Naam Joker’ with Samara (her daughter) and told her that ‘you have to see your great-grandfather’. It brought back so many memories.”

It is said that the women in the Kapoor family didn’t work in movies before Karisma who ventured into acting in the 90s with “Prem Qaidi” in 1991.

Karisma in an old interview said that her grandfather didn’t oppose her acting ambitions but cautioned her about it not being a “bed of roses”.

“He always used to say, ‘Lolo (Karisma’s nickname) baby, I know you will become (an actor). But I just want to say that if you become an actor, be the best, otherwise don’t'”.