Shekhar Kapur
Encyclopedia
Shekhar Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is an India
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 film director and producer. A critically acclaimed director, he rose to popularity with the movie Bandit Queen
Bandit Queen
Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the...

. His historical biopics of Queen Elizabeth I (Elizabeth
Elizabeth (film)
Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...

and its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age) garnered several Academy Award nominations, including two Best Actress nods for Cate Blanchett.

Early life

Kapur was born in British India (modern-day Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

) to Kulbhushan Kapur, a doctor who had a flourishing practice, and Sheel Kanta, a journalist and stage actress. The nephew of actors Vijay Anand and Dev Anand
Dev Anand
Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...

, he was discouraged to get into show business by his father. His schooling was at the Modern School
Modern School (New Delhi)
Modern School, commonly known as Modern, is a co-educational private school in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1920 by Lala Raghubir Singh and Sir Sobha Singh. Considered to be one of the elite schools, Modern is also referred to as the Eton of India. It is the first private school established...

, New Delhi. He did his economics course at St. Stephen's College
St. Stephen's College, Delhi
St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi located in Delhi, India. The college admits both undergraduates and post-graduates, and awards degrees under the purview of the University. Famous for its rich history and many traditions, St...

. At 22, Kapur became a chartered accountant
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...

, having studied accountancy to please his parents.

Career

Kapur started his career working with a multinational oil company. He moved to Great Britain in 1970, and spent several years working as an accountant and management consultant.

He started his career as an actor in the movie Jaan Hazir Hai (1975) and later in Toote Khilone
Toote Khilone
Toote Khilone is a 1978 Bollywood film produced by Prem Sawhney and Mahendra Shah. The film is directed by Ketan Anand . The film stars Ketan's cousin Shekhar Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and Utpal Dutt. The films music is by Bappi Lahiri...

in Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

. He also appeared in several Hindi TV serials, like Udaan
Udaan (TV series)
Udaan was the name of a popular Hindi TV serial that aired on the Indian Television channel DD National in 1989 - 91. The serial was written and directed by Kavita Choudhary who was also the main lead of the serial. It also starred Shekhar Kapur in a cameo. It was probably the first Indian...

opposite Kavita Chaudhary, and films, but failed to flourish as an actor.

He turned director with Masoom
Masoom
Masoom is a 1983 Indian film and Shekhar Kapur's first directorial venture. The critically acclaimed film starred Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Tanuja, Supriya Pathak and Saeed Jaffrey, as well as child actors Jugal Hansraj, Aradhana and Urmila Matondkar. The screenplay and dialogues were...

(1983). He then directed the 1987 science-fiction film Mr. India which was one of the most successful films of the 1980s. In 1994 he directed the critically acclaimed Bandit Queen and also played a cameo in the film as a truck driver.

Kapur was also partly involved in the production of several Bollywood films. He partly directed the movie Joshilay (1989), which starred Sunny Deol
Sunny Deol
Sunny Deol often credited as "Action King of Bollywood" is an Indian film actor, producer and director. Deol was born to Bollywood actor Dharmendra. He has won two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards. He went to England to study acting...

, Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....

, Sridevi and Meenakshi Sheshadri. In 1992 he was set to direct another science-fiction film titled Time Machine, which was to star 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....

, Raveena Tandon
Raveena Tandon
Raveena Tandon is a National Film Award winning Indian actress, producer, and a former model. She has primarily worked in Bollywood films, though she appeared in a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films as well....

, 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:...

 and Rekha. However, halfway through production, financial problems forced the film to be abandoned http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3b6GQXSAxg. He partly directed Dushmani
Dushmani
Dushmani is a 2009 Hindi-language Indian film directed by Imran Khalid, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Armaan Kohli, Faisal Khan and Puru Raajkumar-Plot:...

, starring Sunny Deol
Sunny Deol
Sunny Deol often credited as "Action King of Bollywood" is an Indian film actor, producer and director. Deol was born to Bollywood actor Dharmendra. He has won two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards. He went to England to study acting...

, Jackie Shroff
Jackie Shroff
Jackie Shroff is an Indian actor. He has been in the industry for more than 28 years and has appeared in over 150 films.-Personal life:...

 and Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala
Manisha B. Koirala is a Nepali-Indian actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well...

.
In 1998, he received international recognition for directing the Academy Award-winning period film Elizabeth
Elizabeth (film)
Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...

. A fictional account of the reign of Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

, the movie was nominated for 7 Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

s. The 2007 sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, was nominated for 2 Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

s. He was accused of being anti-British by British tabloids for his portrayal of the British Army and the Empire in the 2002 movie The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers (2002 film)
The Four Feathers is a 2002 action drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur, starring Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou and Kate Hudson...

. This perception was heightened by the fact that during an interview for the DVD release of The Four Feathers, he spoke favourably of the Mahdi
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...

, a fanatical religious leader depicted in the film.

Kapur was the executive producer of the film The Guru. He also established an Indian film company with Ram Gopal Verma and Mani Ratnam, though the group has thus far produced only one film, Dil Se
Dil Se
Dil Se is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, and Preity Zinta. Mani Ratnam also co-wrote the screenplay for the film...

(1998), starring Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

 and Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala
Manisha B. Koirala is a Nepali-Indian actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well...

. He was also executive producer of the Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

-themed Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

 musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan,and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two years...

, which has been running in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

, London since 2002, and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 in New York City since 2004.

In 2005, Kapur worked with Okan Quail on Hunji!, a story of a young Indian maid who idolised Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...

. Some claim that this was his finest film ever. Critics across the UK and India called it a flop.

In 2006, Kapur formed Liquid Comics
Liquid Comics
Liquid Comics is a comic book company, founded in 2006 as Virgin Comics LLC, which produced stories for an international audience. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Group, author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan, Suresh...

 and Virgin Animation, an entertainment company focused on creating new stories and characters for a global audience. Its Shakti titles debuted with Devi and The Sadhu
The Sadhu
The Sadhu is a comic book series based on the character of the same name. The Sadhu was created by Gotham Chopra and Jeevan Kang and the series is part of the Shakti line of comics published by Virgin Comics....

. Devi is about "a fierce feminine warrior, stronger than the Gods themselves . . . a champion of the heavens, and the protector of man;" and The Sadhu is about one man's choice between his spiritual oath and his human instinct,"

In an unusual role, Kapur provided the voice of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 in the Charkha Audio books title of The Story of My Experiments with Truth
The Story of My Experiments with Truth
The Story of My Experiments with Truth is the autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1920. It was initiated at the insistence of Swami Anand and other close co-workers of Gandhi, for him to explain the background of his public campaigns...

, alongside Nandita Das
Nandita Das
Nandita Das is an award-winning Indian film actress and director. As an actress, she is known for her performances in Fire , Earth , Bawandar , Kannathil Muthamittal and Aamaar Bhuvan . As a director, she is known for her directorial debut Firaaq , which has won a number of national and...

 as narrator.

He served as judge on a reality TV series, India's Got Talent
India's Got Talent
India's Got Talent is the Indian franchise of the Got Talent series, and is a cooperative effort between India's TV channel Colors and Britain's FremantleMedia. The first episode of India's Got Talent premiered on June 27, 2009. India's Got Talent follows the global Got Talent format, in which...

, aired on Colors. He was a member of the jury at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 12 to May 23, 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the...

 in May 2010.

Future projects

His future projects include Long Walk to Freedom
Long Walk to Freedom
Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiographical work written by Nelson Mandela, and published in 1995 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison. Mandela was once regarded as a terrorist but he is now regarded as uncontroversial...

, Paani, The Last Full Measure. A third episode in the Queen Elizabeth series is planned. According to screenwriter John Rogers
John Rogers (writer)
John Rogers is a screenwriter, comedian, film producer, and comic book writer. Although born in Worcester, Massachusetts, he attended McGill University in Montreal and is better known publicly as a Canadian writer...

, the success of Elizabeth led to Kapur being tapped to work on an adaptation of Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...

's Foundation Trilogy, but the project was eventually shelved. Kapur also tentatively planned to helm a motion picture account of the life of the Buddha, entitled Buddha, but the plans were later dropped for unstated reasons. He also planned to adapt Larklight
Larklight
Larklight is a children's novel by author Philip Reeve. Illustrated by David Wyatt, it is the first book in the Larklight Trilogy. The hardcover edition has alternate title lines Or the Revenge of the White Spiders! or to Saturn's Rings and Back!...

, a book by Philip Reeve
Philip Reeve
Philip Reeve is a British author and illustrator. He presently lives on Dartmoor with his wife Sarah and their son Samuel.-Biography:...

.

In an interview with Associated Content
Associated Content
Associated Content is a division of Yahoo that focuses on online publishing. Yahoo's Associated Content distributes a large variety of writing through its website and content partners, including Yahoo News.-History:...

, Kapur announced he is no longer attached to Larklight
Larklight
Larklight is a children's novel by author Philip Reeve. Illustrated by David Wyatt, it is the first book in the Larklight Trilogy. The hardcover edition has alternate title lines Or the Revenge of the White Spiders! or to Saturn's Rings and Back!...

.

He is set to direct Paani. The film will be produced by Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle
Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...

. Its music will be composed by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...

. The announcement for the film was made at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in 2010.

Filmography

Direction Filmography
Year Title
1983 Masoom
Masoom
Masoom is a 1983 Indian film and Shekhar Kapur's first directorial venture. The critically acclaimed film starred Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Tanuja, Supriya Pathak and Saeed Jaffrey, as well as child actors Jugal Hansraj, Aradhana and Urmila Matondkar. The screenplay and dialogues were...

1987 Mr. India
1989 Joshilay (Co director)
1992 Time Machine
1994 Bandit Queen
Bandit Queen
Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the...

1998 Elizabeth
2002 The Four Feathers
The Four Feathers (2002 film)
The Four Feathers is a 2002 action drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur, starring Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou and Kate Hudson...

2007 Elizabeth: The Golden Age
2008 New York, I Love You
New York, I Love You
New York, I Love You is a 2009 romance film released in the United States on October 16, 2009. From the producer of Paris, je t'aime, it stars an ensemble cast, among them Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Anton Yelchin, Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom, Irrfan Khan, Rachel Bilson,...

2009 Dushmani
Dushmani
Dushmani is a 2009 Hindi-language Indian film directed by Imran Khalid, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Armaan Kohli, Faisal Khan and Puru Raajkumar-Plot:...

(Co director)
2009 Passage
Passage (2009 film)
Passage is a 2009 short drama film, directed by Shekhar Kapur, written by Sheila Callaghan and Amy Kaufman, composed by A.R. Rahman, and starring Haley Bennett, Julia Stiles and Lily Cole. It was shot in Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina...

2012 Paani(pre-production)
2012 Mallory(pre-production)

Acting Filmography
Year Title Role
1974 Ishq Ishq Ishq
1975 Jaan Hazir Hai
Jaan Hazir Hai
Jaan Hazir Hai is a 1975 Bollywood film directed byManohar Nath Rangroo.-Cast:*Urmila Bhatt*Iftekhar*Jankidas*Trilok Kapoor*Shekhar Kapur*Prem Krishan*Murad*Natasha*Ranjan*Komilla Wirk...

1978 Toote Khilone
Toote Khilone
Toote Khilone is a 1978 Bollywood film produced by Prem Sawhney and Mahendra Shah. The film is directed by Ketan Anand . The film stars Ketan's cousin Shekhar Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and Utpal Dutt. The films music is by Bappi Lahiri...

1979 Jeena Yahan
Jeena Yahan
Jeena Yahan is a 1979 Bollywood film directed by Basu Chatterjee.Produced by N.P Ali/Jamu Pictures-Cast:*Shekhar Kapur*Shabana Azmi*Dina Pathak*Sunder*Purohit*Devendra Khandelwal *Kiran Vairale*V.K. Pathak...

1980 Khanjar
Khanjar (1980 film)
Khanjar is a 1980 Hindi language film produced and directed by Atmaram. This action thriller casts Navin Nischol in the lead with the support cast of Reena Roy, Suresh Oberoi, Amjad Khan, Jankidas, Jayshree T., Jeevan, K. N. Singh, Mehmood, Murad, Reeta Bhaduri, Sajjan, Shekhar Kapur...

Ramesh
1984 Bindiya Chamkegi
Bindiya Chamkegi
-Plot:Shalini 'Shalu' lives a wealthy lifestyle with her businessman brother, Shyam Kapoor, and is expected to marry Surajbhan, the son of wealthy Thakursaheb. She would prefer that Shyam got married first so that he can have someone to look after him, but as he was in love with a woman named Maya,...

Raj A. Kumar
1988 Falak (The Sky)
Bollywood films of 1988
A list of films produced by the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai in 1988:-Highest grossing:# Tezaab Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Chunkey Pandey# Shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan, Meenakshi Sheshadri# Paap Ki Duniya Sunny Deol, Neelam, Chunkey Pandey...

Inspector - Jimmy
1989 Gawaahi
Gawaahi
Gawaahi is a 1989 Bollywood film directed by Anant Balani on his directorial debut. The film starred Zeenat Aman, Ashutosh Gowariker, Shekhar Kapur and Ranjeeta...

1990 Drishti
Drishti (film)
Drishti is a 1990 Hindi film directed by Govind Nihalani, and stars Dimple Kapadia , Shekhar Kapur and Irrfan Khan. The film is one of the rare film to have music direction by noted classical singer, Kishori Amonkar....

Nikhil
1991 Nazar
Nazar
Nazar may refer to:* Nazar , or evil eye stone, is an amulet of stone or glass which is believed to protect against evil eye, widely used in Turkey* Nazar , a masculine given name....

Antique Dealer/Money Lender
1992 Saatwan Aasman Dev

As a Producer

  • 1998 Dil Se
    Dil Se
    Dil Se is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, and Preity Zinta. Mani Ratnam also co-wrote the screenplay for the film...

    ... (executive producer)

  • 2002 The Guru (executive producer)

  • 2011 Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told (documentary)

  • 2012 Paani (pre-production)

External links

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