Mumbai: Raj Kapoor, popularly known as Show Man, was born December 14, 1924 in Peshawar, Pakistan. Raj Kapoor was not only an excellent actor but was also a successful producer and director.
Even today, people go crazy while watching Raj Kapoor’s films. On the occasion of his birthday, let us tell you some special things about him and Nargis.
There was a time when Nargis and Raj Kapoor’s love affair was at its peak. The whole world knew about them. But it could not take the form of marriage as Nargis left Raj Kapoor and married Sunil Dutt.
Nargis was completely devoted to Raj Kapoor before marrying Sunil Dutt. It is said that Raj Kapoor had also given his heart to Nargis at first sight.
Though being a married man, Raj Kapoor loved Nargis very much. He had promised Nargis many times that he would marry her. After a nine-year relationship, Nargis began to feel that Raj’s attention towards her decreased. Meanwhile, Raj Kapoor could neither break his marriage nor rebel against his father to marry Nargis. Left with no option, Nargis ended her relationship with him.
Writer Madhu Jain in her book wrote, ‘When Raj came to know that Nargis had married Sunil Dutt, he cried bitterly in front of his friends and colleagues. The irony of Raj Kapoor’s life was that his first meeting with Nargis was only four months after his marriage. Their religions were also different.
The first film of both Raj Kapoor and Nargis was Aag.
Madhu Jain writes in her book, Kapoor: The First Family of Indian Cinema- Nargis started putting everything even her money in Raj Kapoor’s films. When RK’s Studio was short of money, Nargis sold her gold bangle. It is also said that on hearing the news of Nargis’s wedding, Raj Kapoor would burn himself with cigarette butts to see if he was dreaming. Since then, Raj Kapoor started drinking heavily, Nargis biographer T.J.S. George writes.
Raj Kapoor always felt that Nargis had cheated him. In an interview in 1986, Raj Kapoor said that Nargis had cheated me for signing Mother India. Years later, when Nargis Dutt died of cancer and was cremated, Raj Kapoor was seen walking with common people, visiting the funeral.