When Rajiv Kapoor said dad Raj Kapoor was not keen on launching him: His idea was ‘make your own way’

Late actor Rajiv Kapoor is remembered for his work in Raj Kapoor’s 1985 film Ram Teri Ganga Maili but this wasn’t his first film as a leading man, In fact, Rajiv Kapoor had once shared that his father, veteran filmmaker Raj Kapoor had encouraged him to find his own way in the movie business and was of the idea that he shouldn’t be launching his son.
In an interview with Lehren, Rajiv Kapoor shared that he first worked with his father when he assed him on the 1982 film Prem Rog. He said, “Who would be better than him to teach me, where could I learn how films are made?” So after he had assed his father and filmmaker Rahul Rawail on a few films, Rajiv started getting acting offers. The first film that he was signed for was Rajiv Mehra’s Ek Jaan Hain Hum.
Rajiv recalled that his father always wanted him to find his own way, just like how he did. “He always wanted that I should work outside first. His idea was, ‘make your own way, like how I did’. This was in my head too,” he shared. When Rajiv got his film offer and he shared it with his father, Raj Kapoor gave him some sage advice. “He said do whatever you want to do. Soch samajh ke karna. Yeh ek line hai, iss line ke iss taraf tum ho, aur iss taraf main hun aur agar koi tumhe koi samaysa aaye ya koi problem ho jahan tumhe kuch samakjh nahi aa raha, ya tumhe lag raha hai ki main iska hal kaise karu, tab mere paas aana main tumko bataunga (Think about what you are doing. There is a line. You are on one side of the line, and I am on the other side of the line. If you face any problem that you can’t solve, then come to me and I’ll help you). But learn to fight your own battles,” he recalled.

In the same chat, Rajiv Kapoor recalled how he was offered Ram Teri Ganga Maili, which turned out to be his biggest hit. He shared, “I came back home one night, Raj saab was at home. He called me and asked if I would like to work in a movie with him. I was caught off guard.” He proceeded to share that when Raj Kapoor asked him about his dates and his availability, he was completely zoned out as he was still in shock of being in an RK movie.
“The moment he would ask for dates, I would cancel all the other producers’ dates and give him. The other producers also knew that now no matter what happens, I will give preference to Raj Kapoor,” he shared.
Rajiv Kapoor did not work in many films in the later part of his career. His last appearance was in 2022’s National Award winning film Toolsidas Junior. Rajiv passed away in February 2021.