Shekhar Kapur

Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is an Indian filmmaker, actor, television presenter and entrepreneur.[1] Born into the Anand-Sahni family, Kapur is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Award, a National Board of Review Award and three Filmfare Awards, in addition to nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Shekhar Kapur
Kapur in 2008
Born
Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur

(1945-12-06) 6 December 1945
Lahore, Punjab, British India
NationalityIndian
Occupation
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
  • entrepreneur
  • television presenter
Years active1974–present
Spouse(s)
Children1
Relatives
FamilyAnand-Sahni
Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India
Assumed office
30 September 2020

Kapur became known in Bollywood with his recurring role in the television series Khandaan. He then made his directorial debut with cult classic Masoom in 1983, before gaining widespread acclaim with Mr. India in 1987. He then gained international recognition and acclaim in 1994 with biographical film Bandit Queen, based on the infamous Indian bandit and politician Phoolan Devi, it was premiered in the directors fortnight section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival.[2][3] Kapur achieved further international prominence with the Academy Award-winning 1998 period film Elizabeth, a fictional account of the reign of British Queen Elizabeth I nominated for seven Oscars.

Early life and education

Shekhar was born on 6 December 1945 in Lahore, Punjab, British India, in a Punjabi Hindu family to Kulbhushan Kapoor, a doctor with a flourishing practice, and his wife Sheel Kanta Kapoor.[1]

While on a train from the newly created Pakistan to India, a massacre took place; Kapur's mother Sheel played dead and hid both himself and his sister under her body.[4] Reflecting on this, Kapur stated that the partition of India happened through "the blood of one people".[4]

The nephew of famous Indian actor Dev Anand, he was discouraged from getting into films by his father.[5] Sheel Kanta was the sister of actors Chetan, Dev and Vijay Anand.[6] Kapur is the only son of his parents and he has three sisters. One of his sisters, Neelu, was the first wife of actor Navin Nischol, while another sister, Aruna, is the wife of actor Parikshit Sahni. His third and youngest sister is Sohaila Kapur.

Kapur attended Modern School of New Delhi.[7] He studied economics at St. Stephen's College. At 22, he became a Chartered Accountant with the ICAEW in England, having studied accountancy at the behest of his parents.[8][9] He then started his career working with a multinational oil company. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1970, and spent several years working as an accountant and management consultant.[10]

Personal life

Kapur had a seven year long relationship with actress Shabana Azmi.[11] He was first married to Medha Gujral, niece of former Indian Prime Minister I. K. Gujral.[12] They divorced in 1994.[13] She died on 25 November 2014 at a hospital in New York City of liver failure following a second heart and first kidney transplant.[14] Kapur later married actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi in 1999.[15] They have a daughter named Kaveri Kapur.[16] The couple divorced in 2007.

In March 2020, Suchitra filed a case against kapur over a property dispute concerning their daughter, Kaveri.[17] She claimed that the property rightfully belongs to their daughter, but has been rented to actor Kabir Bedi and his wife, Parveen.[18]

Career

In India

Kapur started his career as an actor in the movie Jaan Hazir Hai (1975)[19] and later in Toote Khilone, in Bollywood. He appeared in several Hindi television dramas, such as Udaan (Doordarshan), opposite Kavita Chaudhary, Upanyaas[20] (Doordarshan) opposite Nisha Singh, and Masoom opposite Neena Gupta.

He turned director with the family drama Masoom (1983), starring Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and a young Jugal Hansraj & Urmila Matondkar. The plot followed the story of an illegitimate boy who struggles to find acceptance from his stepmother. He then directed the 1987 science-fiction film Mr. India, starring Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Amrish Puri in his most famous role as the villain Mogambo. Puri's most famous dialogue in this film "Mogambo Khush Hua" is still remembered.[21] In 1994 he directed the critically acclaimed Bandit Queen[22] and played a cameo in the film as a truck driver.

Kapur was infamous for abandoning several films he was originally the director of.[23] He was originally the director of the 1989 film Joshilaay, which starred Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Meenakshi Sheshadri before leaving the production halfway, and its producer Sibti Hassan Rizvi stepped in to complete the film. In 1992, he had shot some scenes for Barsaat, which was originally titled Champion[24] and was going to be the debut film of Bobby Deol, but he left the production and was replaced by Rajkumar Santoshi. In 1995, he partly directed Dushmani, starring Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff and Manisha Koirala before its producer Bunty Soorma stepped in to complete the film.[25]


Kapur was the executive producer of the film The Guru. He established an Indian film company with Ram Gopal Verma and Mani Ratnam, though the group has thus far produced only one film, Dil Se.. (1998), starring Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. Kapur executive-produced the Bollywood-themed musical Bombay Dreams by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which ran in London's the West End and on Broadway in New York City for 1 year.

In an unusual role for him, Kapur provided the voice of Mohandas Gandhi in the Charkha Audiobooks title of The Story of My Experiments with Truth, alongside Nandita Das as narrator.

In 2013, Kapur hosted the TV show Pradhanmantri on ABP News. On the show, which aims to bring never-seen-before facets of Indian history, he was the narrator.[26]

He served as judge on the reality TV series India's Got Talent, aired on Colors.

In 2016, Kapur delivers an autobiographical film and documentary about Amma, well known as Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, called "The Science of Compassion".[27]

International

In 1998, he received international recognition for the second time after Bandit Queen, when he directed the Academy Award-winning period film Elizabeth, a fictional account of the reign of British Queen Elizabeth I nominated for seven Oscars. The 2007 sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, was nominated for two Oscars. He was accused of being anti-British by British tabloids for his portrayal of the British Army in the 2002 movie The Four Feathers. However, he denied the accusations and stated that he was merely "anti-colonisation".[28]

In 2005, Kapur worked with Okan Quail on Hunji!, a story of a young Indian maid who idolised Sachin Tendulkar. Although it gained some acclaim as one of his finest films, critics across the UK and India called it a flop.

He was a member of the jury at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in May 2010.[29]

He has announced that he will direct Little Dragon, an authorized biopic of martial arts legend Bruce Lee.[30]

Future projects

It was announced in March of 2019 that Kapur will be directing a TV series for Endemol Shine based on historical novels by Amitav Ghosh, known as the "Ibis Trilogy", which details the opium wars among Britain, India and China in mid-19th century.[31][32]

Kapur is all set to adapt Amish Tripathi critically acclaimed book series Shiva Trilogy into a television web show.[33] He will be co-directing the show with Suparn Verma.[34]

Comic book publishing
Further information: Liquid Comics

In 2006, Kapur formed Liquid Comics and Virgin Animation, an entertainment company focused on creating new stories and characters for a global audience. The Shakti titles of Kapur and Deepak Chopra's company debuted with Devi and The Sadhu.[35] Devi is about "a fierce feminine warrior, stronger than the Gods themselves ... a champion of the heavens, and the protector of man", while The Sadhu "is about one man's choice between his spiritual oath and his human instinct."[35]

Unrealized projects

The following is a list of unproduce projects from Shekhar Kapur. During his long career, Kapur have worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell and are presumably or officially canceled, while some were taken over and completed by other filmmakers.[36]

Time Machine

In 1992, he was set to direct the science-fiction film titled Time Machine, which was to star Aamir Khan, Raveena Tandon, Naseeruddin Shah and Rekha, but he abandoned the project halfway through due to financial problems.[37] The film was left incomplete, although there were talks many years later that Kapur would revive the project with a new cast, which never happened.[38]

Elizabeth's third chapter and foundation series

A third episode in the Queen Elizabeth series, Elizabeth: The Dark Age, was planned.[39] According to screenwriter John Rogers, the success of Elizabeth led to Kapur being tapped to work on an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, but later both the projects got eventually shelved.[40]

Buddha

Kapur tentatively planned to helm a motion picture account of the life of the Buddha, titled Buddha, but the plans were dropped for unstated reasons.

Larklight film adaptation

He planned to adapt Larklight, a book by Philip Reeve. Kapur traveled to Yerevan, Armenia to explore the possibility of making a film about the Armenian genocide. In an interview with Associated Content, Kapur announced he is no longer attached to Larklight.

Paani

He was also set to direct Paani. The film was reported to star Sushant Singh Rajput produced by Aditya Chopra.[41] It's music was to be composed by A. R. Rahman.[42] The announcement was made at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in 2010. Paani has since been shelved.[43][44]

The Nine o’Clock War

One of his shelved projects was a film tentatively titled The Nine o'Clock War, which he had planned with his longtime friend and previous collaborator, the Australian actor Heath Ledger in the role of a popular television news anchor. It never happened, as a result of the actor's unexpected death in 2008.

Cleopatra television series

He was also set to write and direct a series titled Cleopatra, about the famous queen Cleopatra of ancient Egypt, being developed by David Ellender's Slingshot Global Media. This project has now been shelved.[45]

Works

Films
Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Producer
1983 Masoom Yes No
1987 Mr. India Yes No
1989 Joshilaay Uncredited No
1994 Bandit Queen Yes No
1996 Dushmani: A Violent Love Story Uncredited No
1998 Elizabeth Yes No
Dil Se.. No Executive
2002 The Four Feathers Yes No
The Guru No Executive
2007 Elizabeth: The Golden Age Yes No
2008 New York, I Love You Segment director No Anthology film
2009 Passage Yes No Short film
2011 Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told No Yes Documentary film
2013 Venice 70: Future Reloaded Yes Yes Anthology film
2015 Iftaar No Executive Short film
2016 Science of Compassion Yes No Documentary film
2022 What's Love Got to Do With It? Yes No Post production

Acting roles

YearTitleRoleNotes
1974 Ishq Ishq Ishq
1975 Jaan Hazir Hai
1978 Toote Khilone
Pal Do Pal Ka Saath
1979 Jeena Yahan
1981 Agni Pareeksha
Bhula Na Dena Uncredited
1980 Khanjar Ramesh
1984 Bindiya Chamkegi Raj A. Kumar
1988 Falak- The Sky Inspector Jimmy
1989 Gawaahi Ranjeet Chaudhary
1990 Drishti Nikhil
1991 Nazar Antique Dealer
1992 Saatwan Aasman Dev
2013 Vishwaroopam R.A.W Agent Colonel Jagannathan Tamil film
Ishkq in Paris Ranveer
2015 Iftaar Ghalib Voice role
2016 Teraa Surroor Rajeev Kaul - Indian ambassador
Science of Compassion Himself Documentary film
2018 Vishwaroopam II R.A.W Agent Colonel Jagannathan Tamil film

Television
Denotes shows that have not yet been released
Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Producer
1994 Tehkikaat Yes No
2016 Damien Yes Executive Directed 1 episode
2017 Will Yes Executive Directed 4 episodes
TBA Ibis Trilogy Part- 1 Yes Executive
TBA Shiva Trilogy Part- 1 Yes No

Acting roles

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985 Khandaan Supporting role
1988 Mahanagar
Uppanyas
1989–1991 Udaan Harish Menon Lead role
2013–2014 Pradhanmantri (Season 1) Host 26 episodes
2020 Pradhanmantri (Season 2) Host 8 episodes
2021 OK Computer Supporting role

Stage
Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Producer Creator
2002 Bombay Dreams No Yes Yes
2018 Matterhorn Yes No No
2022 Why? - The Musical Yes Yes Yes Co-produced with A.R. Rahman

Comic books
Year Title Functioned as Notes
Creator Publisher
2006 Snake Woman Yes Yes
2006–2008 Devi Yes Yes
2006–2008 Ramayan 3392 A.D. Yes Yes Co-created with Deepak Chopra

Awards and honours

In international cinema, his historical biopics on Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), have earned him acclaim, with the former winning the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film and both getting nominated for an Academy Award.[46][47][48]

Kapur has also been the recipient of a National Board of Review Award, as well as an Indian National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. In 2010, he served as one of the Jury Members (International Competition) at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.[3][49] In 2020, Kapur became the current president of the Film and Television Institute of India.[50]

Civilian honor
British Academy Film Awards
Golden Globe Awards
National Board of Review Awards
National Film Awards
Filmfare Awards

Awards received by Shekhar Kapur's films
Year Film Academy Awards BAFTA Awards Golden Globe Awards
Nominations Wins Nominations Wins Nominations Wins
1998 Elizabeth 7 1 12 5 3 1
2007 Elizabeth: The Golden Age 2 1 4 1
Total 9 2 16 5 4 1

Directed Academy Award Performances
Year Performer Film Result
Academy Award for Best Actress
1999 Cate Blanchett Elizabeth Nominated
2008 Elizabeth: The Golden Age Nominated

References
  1. "Shekhar Kapur: A life in focus". The Times of India. 16 March 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  2. "Anurag Kashyap: 'The perception of India cinema is changing'". Digital Spy.
  3. "Shekhar Kapur, exclusive interview". Festival de Cannes.
  4. "When Shekhar Kapur's mother played dead to save his life during partition". Hindustan Times. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  5. Andrea LeVasseur (2007). "Shekhar Kapur". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  6. "Shekhar Kapur: My uncle Dev Anand, the man no one knew..." NDTVMovies.com.
  7. "Shekhar Kapur becomes a name to reckon with in Western cinema". The Indian Express. 16 March 2000. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  8. Wild, Damian (5 October 2003). "Shehkar Kapur: Reeling in the punters". Accountancy Age. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  9. Kapoor, Shekhar. "My uncle Dev Anand, the man no one knew…". Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  10. "Sorry". The Indian Express. India. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  11. "Shabana Azmi was in live in relationship with Shekhar Kapur". J S News Times. 5 April 2021.
  12. "The Tumultuous Married Life A Cinema Phenomenon: Shekhar Kapur". The Bridal Box. 1 October 2016.
  13. Ram Kohli (17 May 2013). "Now it can be told Medha asked Shekhar Kapur for a divorce". DNA India.
  14. "Sad demise". 5 December 2014.
  15. "Shekhar Kapur with Suchitra". Punjabi Gram.
  16. Hanima Anand. "Sweet Beauty Of Suchitra And Shekhar Kapur Daughter, Pop Singer Kaveri Kapur". Star Biz. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  17. Entertainment Desk (5 March 2020). "Shekhar Kapur vs wife Suchitra Krishnamoorthi property case: Daughter Kaveri opens up". I dia Tv News. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  18. HT Correspondent (6 March 2020). "Shekhar Kapur ex wife Suchitra Krishnamoorthi files case against him over property dispute". Hindustan Times.
  19. Bhawana Somaaya (6 December 2002). "Screen > The Business of Entertainment". Screenindia.com. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  20. "Doordarshan running out of programmes". Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  21. Koimoi.com Team (22 June 2010). "A Tribute To Amrish 'Mogambo' Puri". Koimoi.com. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  22. Roy, Amit (26 July 2001). "The dacoit leader who wore a tiger skin sari". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  23. "Will Shekhar Kapur make another film?". 11 March 2013.
  24. "In fearless pursuit..." The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 February 2003.
  25. "Shekhar Kapur moves out after Bandit Queen". filmnirvana.com. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  26. "Pradhanmantri". abpnews.in. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  27. "The Science of Compassion (Video available on YouTube)". Shekhar Kapur. 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  28. Rajat Ghai (2 November 2012). "Shekhar Kapur: "Film on Armenian genocide will be challenging"". Hetq. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  29. Leffler, Rebecca (15 April 2010). "Hollywood Reporter: Cannes Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  30. Frater, Patrick (8 May 2017). "Shekhar Kapur to Direct Authorized Bruce Lee Biopic 'Little Dragon'".
  31. "Shekhar Kapur to direct drama on Amitav Ghosh's 'The Ibis Trilogy'". The Week. 26 March 2019.
  32. Press Trust of India (25 March 2019). "Shekhar Kapur to direct drama on Amitav Ghosh's 'The Ibis Trilogy'". Business Standard.
  33. PTI (9 March 2022). "Shekhar Kapur to direct series adaptation of Amish Tripathi's book Shiva Trilogy". The Hindu.
  34. BollywoodMDB Team (9 March 2022). "Shekhar Kapur and Suparn Verma to direct the first instalment of Amish Tripathi's Shiva Trilogy". BollywoodMDB.
  35. How Deepak Chopra's Virgin Comics is changing comic book industry.
  36. Pinkvilla Desk (16 June 2020). "Shekhar Kapur's shelved projects over the years". Pinkvilla. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  37. "Time Machine Rushes – Aamir Khan, Raveena Tandon, Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah, Shekhar Kapur". YouTube. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  38. Vajir Singh (1 February 2008). "Shekhar Kapur to revive Time Machine". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  39. Ramachandran, Naman (7 December 2017). "IFFAM: Shekhar Kapur Talks 'Little Dragon,' 'Elizabeth: The Dark Age'". Variety. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  40. "Kung Fu Monkey: Futurism vs. Futuruisn't". Kfmonkey.blogspot.com. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  41. "Rahman scores of Paani". Behindwoods. 11 October 2010.
  42. John (16 May 2010). "Shekhar Kapoor Hires A R Rahman for Paani". Taking Films.
  43. "Paani in Cannes". Sworovski. 15 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  44. "John Travolta likely to star in Shekhar Kapoor's Paani". The Hindu. Press Trust of India.
  45. Petski, Denise (18 August 2015). "'Cleopatra' Series In The Works At Slingshot Global Media". deadline.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  46. "Film in 1999". BAFTA. 11 April 1999.
  47. "71st Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 21 March 1999.
  48. "80th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 24 February 2008.
  49. "'Harry Potter' Star Emma Watson to Make Bollywood Debut with Shekhar Kapur's 'Paani'?". International Business Times. 14 May 2014.
  50. "Shekhar Kapur appointed FTII president". 30 September 2020.
  51. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  52. "National Board of Review of Motion Pictures :: Awards". Nbrmp.org. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.