Raj Kapoor off his pedestal

Raj Kapoor was not only Bollywood's consummate showman but was a connoisseur of cinema, booze and his leading ladies, according to a soon-to-be-launched book penned by his son Rishi Kapoor.

Called “Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored”, Rishi opens up about his father's affairs with co-actors and his passion for films, besides capturing the evolution of their father-son relationship.

The book virtually starts with a reference to Raj Kapoor's affair with yesteryears' actor Nargis Dutt, who together, he writes, continue to be widely acknowledged as the most iconic pair onscreen.

 “My father, Raj Kapoor, was twenty-eight years old and had already been hailed as the 'showman of Hindi cinema' four years before. He was also a man in love at the time, unfortunately, with someone other than my mother. His girlfriend was the leading lady of some of his biggest hits of the time, including Aag (1948), Barsaat (1949) and Awara (1951).”

Nargis was Raj Kapoor's “in-house heroine”, according to Rishi who in his book has also talked about the relationship the senior Kapoor shared with co-star Vyajanthimala who had denied having an affair with the actor.

He writes, “I remember moving into the Natraj Hotel on Marine Drive with my mom during the time Papa was involved with Vyjayanthimala. From the hotel, we shifted for two months into an apartment in Chitrakoot. My father had bought the apartment for Mom and us. He did all he could to woo her back but my mother wouldn't give in until he had ended that chapter of his life.”

He remembers getting “livid” when Vyjayanthimala claimed that his father had “manufactured the romance because of his hunger for publicity”.

The son says Raj Kapopor had a fascination for a particular brand of whisky, which he refused to share.

 “My father loved his cinema, his booze, his leading ladies and his work. But for a man legendary for his hospitality, he was very possessive of his whisky. When we started drinking together, for him it was always Johnny Walker Black Label bought in London, while we were served locally procured whisky,” he writes, adding that “heaps of unopened Black Label bottles stashed away in his cupboards” were found after Raj Kapoor passed away.

Much like his own relationship with son Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi too shared a bond with his father that was one of reverence. He says that it evolved from being driven by fear to one laden with "an indescribable love and respect that just kept growing".

Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, who has written the foreword to his father Rishi's autobiography, also speaks about the “formal” relationship between him and his father.

The 34-year-old actor says that the father-son relationship is “one of complete reverence” and that he has never crossed a “certain line” with Rishi.

The actor goes on to say that he would not want to share a similar relationship with his own children in the future and unlike his father, spend more time with them.

 “Sometimes I wish I could just pick up the phone and ask him, 'Dad, how are you doing?' But we do not have that. We do not have a phone relationship.”

At the same time, Ranbir writes, “I'm inspired by him and never want to let him down. I know he has only my best interests at heart. He also takes care of the financial side of my work. So we are more connected now.”