# Rajat Kapoor

Rajat Kapoor is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema.

## Early life and early career

Rajat Kapoor was born in Delhi, India and grew up in Old Delhi. In 1983 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi. In 1985 he moved to Pune to attend the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
Kapoor started out in Parallel Cinema, making his debut in the 1989 Kumar Shahani film Khayal Gatha. When he had trouble finding acting jobs in the 1990s, Kapoor began writing and directing shorts. He made his full-length directorial debut with Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One (1997), which had Irrfan Khan and Naseeruddin Shah in minor roles.

## Mainstream breakthrough and continued career

In 2001, Kapoor got his big mainstream break-in Dil Chahta Hai, as Preity Zinta's character's uncle. He received international attention in Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding in which he played an abusive uncle. Since then, he has written, directed, and appeared in many films. He played Muhammad Ali Jinnah in a UK television film The Last Days of the Raj in 2007. In 2003, he wrote and directed the independent film Raghu Romeo, which he financed by sending e-mail requests for money to his friends. Although it was not a box office success, the film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. He then directed and starred in Mixed Doubles, a film that deals with swinging in contemporary Mumbai. In 2008 he directed a sleeper hit Mithya. He was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actor for Siddharth: The Prisoner at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In the year 2010, he has also starred in a Bengali movie Iti Mrinalini opposite Konkona Sen directed by Bengali film writer Aparna Sen.
Apart from films, Kapoor hosts the tri-weekly chat show Lounge telecasted by NDTV Good Times. He also worked in television shows, including Rishtey which was aired on Zee TV in the episode "Milan". Tired of pitching his stories to investors, Kapoor reached out to his friend Chet Jainn, founder of the crowdfunding platform goCrowdera.com to raise initial seed fund for his next film called RkRkay. The "RkRkay" crowdfunding campaign went on to raise over ₹35,00,000.
Kapoor is a three time National Award winner, first for his 26-minute non-feature documentary, Tarana, then for his short, Hypnothesis, and after that for Raghu Romeo in Best Feature Film in Hindi section.

## Personal life

Kapoor married Meenal Agarwal, a photographer-production designer in 1996 and has two children, a daughter Rabia and a son Vivan. Kapoor is an atheist, and he has said he believes God is a man-made concept.

### Allegations of sexual harassment

In October 2018, Kapoor was accused of sexual harassment by two different women during the Me Too movement. One, a journalist, said that he made inappropriate comments during a telephone interview. Following these accusations, Kapoor apologised on Twitter, saying "I am sorry from the bottom of my heart – and sad that I was the cause of this hurt to another human being." His film Kadakh was dropped from the 20th MAMI Film Festival due to the allegations.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Functioned As | Functioned As | Functioned As | Functioned As | Functioned As | Notes |
| Year | Film | Director | Producer | Screenwriter | Actor | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | Khayal Gatha | | | | Yes | Several characters | Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics) Premiered at Rotterdam Film Festival |
| 1994 | Tarana | Yes | | | | | National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film National Film Award for Best Cinematography |
| 1996 | Hypnothesis | Yes | | | | | National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film |
| 1997 | Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One | Yes | | Yes | | | |
| 2001 | Dil Chahta Hai | | | | Yes | Mahesh | |
| 2001 | Monsoon Wedding | | | | Yes | Tej Puri | |
| 2003 | Raghu Romeo | Yes | | Yes | | | National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi |
| 2003 | Mudda: The Issue | | | | Yes | Harphool Singh | |
| 2004 | Tum | | | | Yes | Vinod Gupta | |
| 2005 | Dhadkanein | | | | Yes | | |
| 2005 | Kisna: The Warrior Poet | | | | Yes | Prince Raghuraj | |
| 2005 | Chehraa | | | | Yes | | |
| 2006 | Mixed Doubles | Yes | | Yes | Yes | Vinod | |
| 2006 | Corporate | | | | Yes | Vinay Sehgal | |
| 2006 | Yun Hota To Kya Hota | | | | Yes | US Consulate Officer | |
| 2006 | Bombay Skies | | | | Yes | Anand | Short film |
| 2006 | Anuranan | | | | Yes | Amit Bannerjee | Simultaneously shot in Hindi and Bengali |
| 2007 | The Last Days of the Raj | | | | Yes | Muhammad Ali Jinnah | TV film |
| 2007 | Bheja Fry | | | | Yes | Ranjeet Thadani | |
| 2007 | Apna Asmaan | | | | Yes | Dr. Sen | |
| 2007 | Hamlet: The Clown Prince | Yes | | | | | Play |
| 2007 | Khoya Khoya Chand | | | | Yes | Prem Kumar | |
| 2008 | Mithya | Yes | | Yes | | | |
| 2008 | Krazzy 4 | | | | Yes | Ravi K. Sanyal | |
| 2008 | Via Darjeeling | | | | Yes | Ronodeep 'Rono' Sen | |
| 2008 | Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na | | | | Yes | Mahesh Pariyar | |
| 2008 | Hulla | | | | Yes | Janardhan | |
| 2008 | Dasvidaniya | | | | Yes | Rajiv Jhulka | |
| 2009 | I M 24 | | | | Yes | Shubendu Roy | |
| 2009 | Ek Tho Chance | | | | Yes | | |
| 2009 | Siddharth: The Prisoner | | | | Yes | Siddharth Roy | |
| 2009 | Teree Sang | | | | Yes | Barrister Mohit Puri | |
| 2009 | Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi? | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Rahul Kapoor | |
| 2010 | Rann | | | | Yes | Naveen Shankalya | |
| 2010 | That Girl in Yellow Boots | | | | Yes | Man Who Steps Out of Elevator | Premiered in South Asian International Film Festival 2010 |
| 2010 | Pappu Can't Dance Saala | | | | Yes | Palash | Premiered in South Asian International Film Festival 2010 |
| 2010 | ...And Once Again | | | | Yes | Rishi | |
| 2010 | Iti Mrinalini | | | | Yes | Siddhartha Sarkar | |
| 2010 | Phas Gaye Re Obama | | | | Yes | Om Shastri | |
| 2011 | Jo Dooba So Paar: It's Love In Bihar! | | | | Yes | Superintendent of Police | |
| 2011 | Nothing Like Lear | Yes | | | | | Play |
| 2012 | Agent Vinod | | | | Yes | ISI chief Lt-Gen Iftekhar Ahmed | |
| 2012 | Fatso! | Yes | Yes | | | | |
| 2012 | The Owner | | Yes | | | | |
| 2012 | 10ml LOVE | | | | Yes | Ghalib | |
| 2012 | Midnight's Children | | | | Yes | Aadam Aziz | |
| 2013 | Carpet Boy | | | | Yes | Ehsaan Khan | |
| 2014 | Ankhon Dekhi | Yes | | Yes | Yes | Rishi | Won – Star Screen Award for Best Story Won - Filmfare Award for Best Story Won - Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics) |
| 2015 | Drishyam | | | | Yes | Mahesh Deshmukh | |
| 2015 | X: Past Is Present | | | | Yes | K | |
| 2016 | Kapoor & Sons | | | | Yes | Harsh Kapoor | Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2016 | Mantra | | | | Yes | Kapil Kapoor | English-Hindi bilingual film |
| 2017 | Rat Race - Ek Andhi Daud | | | | Yes | Akhil | Short film |
| 2018 | Pari | | | | Yes | Professor Quasim Aali | |
| 2018 | Mulk | | | | Yes | Danish Javed | |
| 2020 | Kadakh | Yes | Yes | | Yes | Author Rahul | |
| 2022 | Gehraiyaan | | | | Yes | Jitesh | |
| 2022 | RK/RKay | Yes | | Yes | Yes | RK / Mahboob | |
| 2022 | Drishyam 2 | | | | Yes | Mahesh Deshmukh | |
| 2023 | Anur | | | | Yes | IAS Loshit Modliar | Assamese film |
| 2023 | Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa | | | | Yes | Chandra | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Language | Platform |
| 1987-88 | Ganadevta | | Hindi | Doordarshan |
| 1994-1998 | Junoon | Pappu | Hindi | Doordarshan |
| 1999-2000 | Gubbare | Sharad | Hindi | Zee TV |
| 2000-2003 | Gharwali Uparwali (one episode only) | Advertising Agency Boss | Hindi | Star Plus |
| 2005 | C.I.D (two episodes only) | Tanuj | Hindi | Sony TV |
| 2008 | Gateway To Hollywood | Judge | Hindi | Sony TV |
| 2014-2015 | Everest | Ramesh Rungta | Hindi | Star Plus |
| 2017-2019 | The Good Karma Hospital | Amit Nambeesan | English | ITV |
| 2020 | Code M | Col. Suryaveer Chauhan | Hindi | ALTBalaji/Zee5 |
| 2020 | Shobdo Jobdo | Sougata | Bengali | Hoichoi |
| 2020 | Scam 1992 | K. Madhavan | Hindi | SonyLIV |
| 2021 | Call My Agent: Bollywood | Montie Bahl | Hindi | Netflix |
| 2022 | Tanaav | Jagjit Malik | Hindi | SonyLIV |
| 2023 | Jehanabad - Of Love & War | Shivanand Singh | Hindi | SonyLIV |
| 2024 | Lootere | Captain A.K. Singh | Hindi | Disney+ Hotstar |