Bollywood actor-filmmaker Rajiv Kapoor, who played the lead role in romantic-drama Ram Teri Ganga Maili and co-produced Heena, the unfinished dream project of his late father Raj Kapoor, passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday. He was 58.
Neetu Kapoor, wife of late actor Rishi Kapoor, was the first to confirm the news on Instagram. She wrote "RIP" alongside a picture of her brother-in-law.
Popularly known as Chimpu Kapoor, he is the youngest son of Raj Kapoor and Krishna Kapoor. His brothers are Randhir Kapoor and late Rishi Kapoor, who passed away on April 30, 2020.
This is the fourth death in the Kapoor family over the past two and a half years. His mother Krishna Raj Kapoor died on October 1, 2018, and his sister Ritu Nanda on January 14, 2020.
Rajiv Kapoor made his debut in Ek Jaan Hain Hum in 1983. He acted in several other films with the most notable being Aasmaan (1984), Lover Boy (1985), Zabardast (1985) and Hum To Chale Pardes (1988).
He made his last film appearance in Zimmedaar in 1990 after which he turned to producing and directing. He co-produced Henna in 1991, directed by his brother Randhir Kapoor in which Rishi Kapoor essayed the lead role in the romantic triangular involving Ashwini Bhave and Zeba Bhaktiyar. The film was written by legendary screenwriter Khwaja Ahmed Abbas. The film was a commercial success and was also India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.
In 1985's Ram Teri Ganga Maili, he played the lead role opposite Mandakini. The movie was considered controversial because of its bold scenes.
In 1996 he made his directorial debut with the commercially unsuccessful PremGranth, which starred his brother Rishi and Madhuri Dixit. In 1999 he produced Aa Ab Laut Chalen, which was directed by his brother Rishi.