Rajat Kapoor is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema.
Early life and career Rajat Kapoor was born on 11 February 1961 in New 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 + Feature films Year Title Functioned As Notes Director Producer Screenwriter Actor Role 1989 Khayal Gatha Several characters 1994 Tarana National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film 1996 Hypnothesis National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film 1997 Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One 2001Dil Chahta Hai MaheshMonsoon WeddingTej Puri 2003 Raghu Romeo National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi Mudda: The Issue Harphool Singh 2004 Tum Vinod Gupta 2005 Dhadkanein Kisna: The Warrior Poet Prince Raghuraj Chehraa 2006 Mixed Doubles Vinod Corporate Vinay Sehgal Yun Hota To Kya Hota US Consulate Officer Bombay Skies Anand Short film Anuranan Amit Bannerjee Simultaneously shot in Hindi and Bengali 2007 The Last Days of the Raj Muhammad Ali Jinnah TV film Bheja Fry Ranjeet Thadani Apna Asmaan Dr. Sen Hamlet: The Clown Prince Play Khoya Khoya Chand Prem Kumar 2008 Mithya Krazzy 4 Ravi K. Sanyal Via Darjeeling Ronodeep 'Rono' Sen Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na Mahesh Pariyar Hulla Janardhan Dasvidaniya Rajiv Jhulka 2009 I M 24 Shubendu Roy Ek Tho Chance Siddharth: The Prisoner Siddharth Roy Teree Sang Barrister Mohit Puri Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi? Rahul Kapoor 2010 Rann Naveen Shankalya That Girl in Yellow Boots Man Who Steps Out of Elevator Premiered in South Asian International Film Festival 2010 Pappu Can't Dance Saala Palash Premiered in South Asian International Film Festival 2010 ...And Once Again Rishi Iti Mrinalini Siddhartha Sarkar Phas Gaye Re Obama Om Shastri 2011 Jo Dooba So Paar: It's Love In Bihar! Superintendent of Police Nothing Like Lear Play 2012 Agent Vinod ISI chief Lt-Gen Iftekhar Ahmed Fatso! The Owner 10ml LOVE Ghalib Midnight's Children Aadam Aziz 2013 Carpet Boy Ehsaan Khan 2014 Ankhon Dekhi RishiWon – Star Screen Award for Best Story Won - Filmfare Award for Best Story Won - Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics) 2015 Drishyam Mahesh DeshmukhX: Past Is Present K 2016Kapoor & Sons Harsh KapoorNominated - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting ActorMantraKapil KapoorEnglish-Hindi bilingual film2017 Rat Race - Ek Andhi Daud Akhil Short film2018PariProfessor Quasim AaliMulkDanish Javed2020KadakhAuthor Rahul 2022GehraiyaanJiteshRK/RKayRK / MahboobDrishyam 2Mahesh Deshmukh 2023AnurIAS Loshit ModliarAssamese film2024 Sadabahar Miya Ji's Son2025Raid 2Anjani Kaul IRS Chief Commissioner of Income TaxRaat Akeli Hai: The Bansal MurdersDGP Sameer Verma2026Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa ChandraMain Vaapas AaungaIqbal GrewalLust Stories 3TherapistDrishyam: The Conclusion Mahesh Deshmukh
Television +YearTitleRoleLanguage1987–1988GanadevtaHindi1994-1998JunoonPappu1999-2000GubbareSharad2000-2003Gharwali Uparwali (one episode only)Advertising Agency Boss2005C.I.D (two episodes only)Tanuj 2008 Gateway To Hollywood Judge2014-2015EverestRamesh Rungta2017-2019The Good Karma HospitalAmit NambeesanEnglish2020Code MCol. Suryaveer ChauhanHindiShobdo JobdoSougataBengaliScam 1992K. MadhavanHindi2021Call My Agent: BollywoodMontie Bahl 2022 Tanaav Jagjit Malik 2023Jehanabad - Of Love & WarShivanand Singh2024LootereCaptain A.K. Singh2025KhaufHakimSaare Jahan Se Accha: The Silent GuardiansR. N. Kao
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