Rajat Kapoor
Encyclopedia
Rajat Kapoor is an India
n actor, writer and director born in 1961.
Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. As a teenager he would watch films with his family and decided to become a filmmaker at the age of 14. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 1983 he joined the theatre group Chigari in Delhi, later moving to Pune
to attend the Film and Television Institute of India
(FTII).
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. In 2001, Kapoor first appeared in Dil Chahta Hai
, which starred Aamir Khan
, as uncle of Preity Zinta
's character. 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 critically acclaimed 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
. He was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor for Siddharth: The Prisoner at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
. Kapoor frequently collaborates with actors Vinay Pathak
and Ranvir Shorey
.
He is also 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.
He hosts the tri-weekly chat show Lounge telecasted by NDTV Good Times
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n actor, writer and director born in 1961.
Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. As a teenager he would watch films with his family and decided to become a filmmaker at the age of 14. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 1983 he joined the theatre group Chigari in Delhi, later moving to Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
to attend the Film and Television Institute of India
Film and Television Institute of India
Film and Television Institute of India , is an autonomous Institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. It is fully aided by Central Government of India. It is situated in the premises of the erstwhile Prabhat Film Company in Pune, India...
(FTII).
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
Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:...
in minor roles. In 2001, Kapoor first appeared in Dil Chahta Hai
Dil Chahta Hai
Dil Chahta Hai is a 2001 Indian film starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia...
, which starred Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
, as uncle of Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
's character. He received international attention in Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
's Monsoon Wedding
Monsoon Wedding
* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival...
in which he played an abusive uncle. Since then, he has written, directed and appeared in many critically acclaimed films including Corporate
Corporate (film)
Corporate is a Bollywood film released in July 2006. The film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar stars Bipasha Basu, Kay Kay Menon, Payal Rohatgi, Minissha Lamba and Raj Babbar.-Plot:...
, Bheja Fry, and also as Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
in a UK television film The Last Days Of The Raj in 2007. In 2003, he wrote and directed the independent film Raghu Romeo
Raghu Romeo
Raghu Romeo is a 2003 Bollywood film directed by Rajat Kapoor, starring Vijay Raaz, Saddiya Siddiqui, Maria Goretti, Manu Rishi and Saurabh Shukla.-Plot:...
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
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi awards the best regional film in Hindi language. Initially the award was known as the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The winners in this category are:...
. Kapoor then directed and starred in Mixed Doubles
Mixed Doubles
Mixed Doubles: An Entertainment on Marriage is a programme consisting of a series of eight short plays or revue sketches, each with two characters, composed by various English playwrights. It was first performed on 6 February 1969 in the Hampstead Theatre Club with the title, We Who Are About To......
, a film that deals with swinging
Swinging
Swinging or partner swapping is a non-monogamous behavior, in which both partners in a committed relationship agree, as a couple, for both partners to engage in sexual activities with other couples as a recreational or social activity...
in contemporary Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. He was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor for Siddharth: The Prisoner at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative of the State Government of Queensland, Australia, through Events Queensland, to honour and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of Asia-Pacific to a global audience and to realise the objectives of UNESCO to...
. Kapoor frequently collaborates with actors Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak is an Indian actor and a theatre person born and raised in Bhojpur, Bihar. He is known for his great Comic timing and as a revolution in Indian Cinema along with Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapur, Abhay Deol, who are tagged as actors of a new genre...
and Ranvir Shorey
Ranvir Shorey
Ranvir Shorey is an Indian actor and former VJ. Since making his debut in Ek Chotisi Love Story , he has starred in a number of high profile films such as Jism and Lakshya...
.
He is also a three time National Award
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
winner, first for his 26 minute non-feature documentary, Tarana, then for his short, Hypnothesis, and after that for Raghu Romeo
Raghu Romeo
Raghu Romeo is a 2003 Bollywood film directed by Rajat Kapoor, starring Vijay Raaz, Saddiya Siddiqui, Maria Goretti, Manu Rishi and Saurabh Shukla.-Plot:...
in Best Feature Film in Hindi section.
He hosts the tri-weekly chat show Lounge telecasted by NDTV Good Times
NDTV GOOD TIMES
NDTV Good Times is an India-based lifestyle television channel that is owned by New Delhi Television. The channel is a joint venture between NDTV and Vijay Mallya's UB Group and it launched in September 2007....
.
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Dil Chahta Hai Dil Chahta Hai Dil Chahta Hai is a 2001 Indian film starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia... |
Mahesh | |
| 2001 | Monsoon Wedding Monsoon Wedding * Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival... |
Tej Puri | |
| 2003 | Ek Alag Mausam Ek Alag Mausam Ek Alag Mausam is 2003 Hindi language movie directed by K P Sasi and starring Nandita Das, Anupam Kher, Renuka Shahane, Rajit Kapur, Arundathi Nag, Sreelatha and Sally Whittaker.... |
George | |
| 2003 | Mudda: The Issue | Harphool Singh | |
| 2004 | Tum | Vinod Gupta | |
| 2005 | Dhadkanein | ||
| 2005 | Kisna: The Warrior Poet Kisna: The Warrior Poet Kisna: The Warrior Poet is a Hindi film that was released in 2005, starring Vivek Oberoi , Antonia Bernath, and Isha Sharvani. The musical film is set in the British India of the tumultuous 1940s when Indian nationalists fighting for the country's independence rose up as one, urging the British Raj... |
Prince Raghuraj | |
| 2005 | Chehraa Chehraa Chehraa , starring Bipasha Basu, Dino Morea, Preeti Jhangiani, and Irrfan Khan, is a Bollywood thriller, released in 2005.-Synopsis:Megha is a college student, in love with her classmate Aakash... |
||
| 2006 | Mixed Doubles Mixed Doubles Mixed Doubles: An Entertainment on Marriage is a programme consisting of a series of eight short plays or revue sketches, each with two characters, composed by various English playwrights. It was first performed on 6 February 1969 in the Hampstead Theatre Club with the title, We Who Are About To...... |
Vinod | |
| 2006 | Corporate Corporate (film) Corporate is a Bollywood film released in July 2006. The film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar stars Bipasha Basu, Kay Kay Menon, Payal Rohatgi, Minissha Lamba and Raj Babbar.-Plot:... |
Vinay Sehgal | |
| 2006 | Yun Hota To Kya Hota Yun Hota To Kya Hota Yun Hota To Kya Hota is a 2006 Hindi film. The film directed by Naseeruddin Shah stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Ayesha Takia, Jimmy Shergill, Paresh Rawal, Boman Irani, Saroj Khan and Irfan Khan... |
U.S. Consulate Officer | |
| 2006 | Bombay Skies | Anand | Short |
| 2006 | Anuranan Anuranan Anuranan is the directorial debut by Bengali film-maker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. The film premiered at the 2006 International Film Festival of India.... |
Amit Bannerjee | Made In Bengali & Hindi Language |
| 2007 | The Last Days Of The Raj | Muhammed Ali Jinnah | TV Movie |
| 2007 | Bheja Fry | Ranjeet Thadani | |
| 2007 | Apna Asmaan | Dr. Sen | |
| 2007 | Khoya Khoya Chand Khoya Khoya Chand Khoya Khoya Chand, is a Bollywood film directed by Sudhir Mishra which released on 7 December 2007. The film stars Shiney Ahuja and Soha Ali Khan in the lead roles with Rajat Kapoor, Sushmita Mukherjee, Sonya Jehan and Vinay Pathak in important roles... |
Prem Kumar | |
| 2008 | Krazzy 4 Krazzy 4 Krazzy 4 is a 2008 Bollywood comedy film directed by Jaideep Sen and produced by Rakesh Roshan. The film stars Juhi Chawla, Arshad Warsi, Irrfan Khan, Suresh Menon and Rajpal Yadav in lead role while Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan appear in item numbers... |
Ravi K. Sanyal | |
| 2008 | Via Darjeeling Via Darjeeling Via Darjeeling is a 2008 Bollywood film. It was directed by debutant Arindam Nandy. It stars Kay Kay Menon, Sonali Kulkarni, Vinay Pathak, Sandhya Mridul and Rajat Kapoor as the lead protagonists.-Cast:*Kay Kay Menon as Ankur Sharma... |
Ronodeep 'Rono' Sen | |
| 2008 | Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na | Mahesh - Meghna's Dad | |
| 2008 | Hulla Hulla (film) Hulla is an 2008 Bollywood film directed by Jaideep Varma, and starring Sushant Singh, Rajat Kapoor, Kartika Rane, Vrajesh Hirjee, Darshan Jariwala and Ravi Jhankal. The producer was Suniel Doshi, while the studio was Reliance Big Pictures and HandMade Films.Upon release, the film performed much... |
Janardhan | |
| 2008 | Dasvidaniya Dasvidaniya Dasvidaniya is a 2008 Bollywood film released on 7 November 2008.The name of the movie is a pun on the list of ten things to be done before death made by Vinay Pathak, and is derived from the Russian phrase до свидания , meaning good bye.-Synopsis:Shy Amar Kaul lives a nondescript life with people... |
Rajiv | |
| 2009 | Marega Salaa | Crook Insurance Agent | |
| 2009 | I Am 24 | ||
| 2009 | Ek Tho Chance Ek Tho Chance Ek Tho Chance is an upcoming Bollywood erotic thriller film directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza and produced by Rangita Pritish Nandy under Pritish Nandy Communications. The music director is Ismail Darbar.... |
||
| 2009 | Siddharth: The Prisoner | Siddharth Roy | |
| 2009 | Teree Sang Teree Sang Teree Sang is a Hindi film directed by Satish Kaushik starring Ruslaan Mumtaz and debutant Sheena Shahabadi. Teree Sang discusses the issue of teen pregnancy.-Synopsis:... |
Maahi's Father | |
| 2009 | Raat Gayi Baat Gayi? Raat Gayi Baat Gayi? -Reception:The movie opened to mixed to negative reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film with one and half stars out of five saying, "In a nutshell, RAAT GAYI, BAAT GAYI? offers a few laughs, not laughter unlimited!"... |
Rahul Kapoor | |
| 2010 | Pappu Can't Dance Saala | Palash | |
| 2010 | Rann Rann (film) Rann is a 2010 Hindi film that stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sudeep, Ritesh Deshmukh, and Gul Panag in the lead roles and Paresh Rawal in a negative role. The film, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, focuses on Indian media.... |
Naveen Shankalya | |
| 2010 | And Once Again And Once Again And Once Again is a 2010 Indian family drama film directed by legendary director Amol Palekar. The film premiered in Mumbai on 20 August 2010.-Plot:... |
Hrishikesh Nag | |
| 2010 | Iti Mrinalini Iti Mrinalini Iti Mrinalini is a 2010 Indian drama film directed by acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Aparna Sen. The director collaborates with debutant screenwriter Ranjan Ghosh to pen the story and the screenplay, a first for her. The film has been produced by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni of Shree Venkatesh... |
Siddhartha Sarkar | Made In Bengali Language |
| 2010 | Phas Gaye Re Obama Phas Gaye Re Obama Phas Gaye Re Obama is a 2010 Bollywood satire film directed by Subhash Kapoor and starring Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Sanjay Mishra, Manu Rishi and Amole Gupte in the lead roles. The music and the background score of the film is composed by Manish. J. Tipu and lyrics are penned by Shellee and... |
Om Shastri | |
| 2011 | That Girl In Yellow Boots That Girl in Yellow Boots That Girl in Yellow Boots is a 2011 Indian thriller film by director Anurag Kashyap, starring Kalki Koechlin and Naseeruddin Shah. The film was first screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010, followed by Venice Film Festival after it played in several festivals... |
Cameo | |
| 2012 | Midnight's Children | Aadam Aziz | Post-Production |
Director
- Tarana (1994)
- Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One (1997)
- Hypnothesis (1998) (short)
- Tonight No Show (2000) (short)
- Must Tell Her... That I Love Her (2001) (short)
- Jojo and the Chair (2001) (short)
- Raghu RomeoRaghu RomeoRaghu Romeo is a 2003 Bollywood film directed by Rajat Kapoor, starring Vijay Raaz, Saddiya Siddiqui, Maria Goretti, Manu Rishi and Saurabh Shukla.-Plot:...
(2003) - Mixed DoublesMixed Doubles (film)Mixed Doubles is an Indian film directed by Rajat Kapoor. It stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey, Koel Purie and Saurabh Shukla. The film follows the general plot of a husband asking his wife to swap him for another male, while he swaps her for the other male's wife.-Synopsis:Mumbai-based...
(2006) - MithyaMithyaMithya is a 2008 Indian film co-written and directed by Rajat Kapoor and produced by Planman Motion Pictures. The film stars Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Naseeruddin Shah and Vinay Pathak in pivotal roles. The film's score and soundtrack is composed by Sagar Desai...
(2008) - Hamlet: the Clown Prince (2009) (play)
- Fatso (2009)
Writer
- Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One (1997) (screenplay)
- Raghu RomeoRaghu RomeoRaghu Romeo is a 2003 Bollywood film directed by Rajat Kapoor, starring Vijay Raaz, Saddiya Siddiqui, Maria Goretti, Manu Rishi and Saurabh Shukla.-Plot:...
(2003) (screenplay) - Mixed DoublesMixed Doubles (film)Mixed Doubles is an Indian film directed by Rajat Kapoor. It stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey, Koel Purie and Saurabh Shukla. The film follows the general plot of a husband asking his wife to swap him for another male, while he swaps her for the other male's wife.-Synopsis:Mumbai-based...
(2006) - MithyaMithyaMithya is a 2008 Indian film co-written and directed by Rajat Kapoor and produced by Planman Motion Pictures. The film stars Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Naseeruddin Shah and Vinay Pathak in pivotal roles. The film's score and soundtrack is composed by Sagar Desai...
(2008)