Hindi cinema is celebrating 100 years of the showman, Raj Kapoor! To comemorate the occasion, a film festival showcasing 10 films of the legendary actor-director, has been launched. The grand premiere night of the celebrations of the festival saw the entire Kapoor clan come together. Kareena Kapoor Khan with Saif Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor with Alia Bhatt, Neetu Kapoor and the entire family was seen together. While Kapoor is known for his long list of movies that have left a huge mark, globally, he was also always under the scanner for his personal life.
Kapoor’s name has been linked to many actresses but mostly, it was his affair with Nargis which was highly spoken about. Reportedly, the film-maker was romantically involved with her, for seven years, despite being married to Krishna Raj Kapoor. They apparently met and fell and in love on the sets of ‘Shree 420‘ and she was just 16 that time. They had a relationship which lasted for seven years as they were deeply in love. But eventually, they parted ways because he wasn’t ready to divorce Krishna and marry her. She went on to marry Sunil Dutt.
Nargis and Sunil tied the knot in March 1958 and Raj was devastated. So much so, that he harmed himself. According to a popular book of author Madhu Jain which is titled, ‘The Kapoor: The First Film Family of Indian Cinema’, Raj felt betrayed when Nargis married Dutt. It was written in the book that he burnt himself with cigarette butts. He also drank a lot, which took a toll on his family.
This book also mentions that Raj Kapoor’s wife, Krishna Raj Kapoor, would openly talk about her husband’s affair with Nargis. She spoke about it during a chat with author Bunny Reuben. She recalled that after Nargis married Dutt, Raj started coming home drunk every night for some time and he would collapse in the bath tub crying for her. It was a turbulent phase for her to see her husband cry for another woman.
Nargis tried her best to marry Kapoor and become Mrs Raj Kapoor. She reportedly also went to India’s then Home Minister Morarji Desai in order to find out ways in which she could legally marry Raj, who was a Hindu and a married man. However, it was all futile as Raj did not want to divorce his wife Krishna. Some reports suggest that Nargis’ brother came in between their relationship, while some speculate that Raj was never going to be able to marry Nargis but he just always kept her in the dark.