He came into cinema with the roar of Raj Kapoor’s scion and vanished soon after, the glory all gone. But Rajiv Kapoor had his innings, and he need not be remembered by only Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Here are 5 films where the least known RK made the most impact.
1. Ek Jaan Hain Hum(1983): Rajiv , aka Chimpoo, made his debut with this well-made love saga that paired the youngest son of Raj Kapoor with a newcomer Divya Rana. Soon as it is wont among debutants, Rajiv and Divya were more involved off screen than on. Nonetheless this film directed by Rajiv Mehra, son of the illustrious producer F C Mehra holds together well as a twisted Romeo and Juliet with Rajiv ending up in the mental asylum .Anu Malik’s music was a big plus. Yaad teri aayegi mujhko bada satayegi remains popular to this day.
2. Aasman(1984): Divya and Rajiv were paired again in Aasman (and again in Raj Kapoor’s Ram Teri Ganga Maili where she played the Other Woman). In Aasman directed by Tony Juneja(of Tito-Tony fame) Rajiv was cast in a double role, one noble and rich the other evil and poor(normally it’s the other way around). Rajiv romanced Ms Rana and Ms Tina Munim. The film bombed despite being quite racy and pickled.
3. Lover Boy(1985) : Incredibly , Rajiv was cast again in a double role in Lover Boy in 1985 . This is a madcap film directed by Kajol’s father Shomu Mukherjee where Rajiv played Kishen and Kanhaiya and romanced Meenakshi Sheshadri and Anita Raj. But what really makes Lover Boy an oddball worth checking out is Bappi Lahiri’s music score. In the soundtrack Bappi got Kishore Kumar and his wife Leena Chandavarkar to sing a zany track called Kiss me where I am told Kishoreda was actually puckering up with his wife during recording and she didn’t mind.But the real piece de resistance was Asha Bhosle belting out a homage to Mrs Indira Gandhi after her assassination. “Ma Indira luta dee tuney desh ki khatir jaan/ Kho ke tujhe anaath ho gaya saara Hindustan.” Okay then.The song didn’t fit anywhere into the plot. But who cared?
4. Lava(1985): In this one director Ravindra Peepat(who really believed in Rajiv and worked in him in another film Hum To Chale Pardes) Rajiv returns from the dead to see his beloved(Dimple Kapadia) married to Raj Babbar. The love triangle holds up well specially because of R D Burman’s music. Jeene de yeh duniya chahe maar daley being a stand-out track.Rajiv stood his ground with his two experienced co-stars.
5. Ram Teri Ganga Maili(1985): Finally Rajiv Kapoor’s only blockbuster which also happens to be his father Raj Kapoor’s farewell film , this one saw the master storyteller at his best. Though many sniggerers said it worked because of Mandakini’s assets, the fact is , this is a very powerful film, a metaphor on love where the purity of the Ganga river is lost as it moves away from its source. Likewise Mandakini’s character Ganga goes from her state of innocence to seduction and pregnancy. A classic with Lata Mangeshkar’s voice anchoring the narrative. Rajiv’s Naren was every bit as convincing and endearing as Mandakini’s Ganga. But then he didn’t have what she did.The audience just didn’t have eyes for Rajiv. They never did.
