Legendary Bollywood producer Surinder Kapoor, father to Boney, Anil, and Sanjay Kapoor, faced immense hardships including financial ruin and legal battles despite building an empire from scratch after the Partition.
Starting from Scratch
After the Partition, Surinder Kapoor arrived in Mumbai from Peshawar with little to his name. He and his wife initially lived in a distant relative Raj Kapoor’s outhouse, a small room above the garage.
The family later moved to a tiny one-bedroom “kholi” in Tilak Nagar, Mumbai, sharing common toilets with other residents. This humble beginning laid the foundation for the Kapoor family’s journey in Bollywood.
Anshula Kapoor, Surinder Kapoor’s granddaughter, recently highlighted this, emphasizing that while she enjoys privilege now, her father’s generation worked incredibly hard to achieve it. Even her cousins, Sonam and Arjun Kapoor, didn’t experience the same level of privilege for years.
Breaking into the Film Industry
Surinder Kapoor entered Bollywood with assistance from his cousin Prithviraj Kapoor, who helped him secure a job as an assistant director on the iconic film Mughal-E-Azam. He also worked as a secretary for actress Geeta Bali, who became instrumental in his producing career.
With Geeta Bali’s help, Surinder Kapoor debuted as a producer in 1963 with the film Jab Se Tumhe Dekha. Despite support from financiers and distributors, he openly admitted he never delivered a major hit in his career.
The Financial Downfall
The family’s financial stability took a severe hit after the high-budget Rajesh Khanna-starrer Shahzaada bombed at the box office. This left Surinder Kapoor deeply indebted and battling stress.
Further calamity struck around 1976 when Surinder Kapoor fell ill, and the director of his ongoing film, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, passed away. Despite finding a new director to complete it, the film flopped upon its 1978 release, plunging the family into deeper debt.
Boney Kapoor revealed that his father’s debt mounted to Rs 22 lakh, eventually ballooning to Rs 36 lakh. Numerous legal cases were filed against Surinder Kapoor as he struggled to repay financiers, all while dealing with heart ailments.
The Sons Step Up
Witnessing his father’s struggles, a young Boney Kapoor decided to step up and take charge. He took on the challenge of film production, determined to clear the family’s debts.
His 1980 film Hum Paanch was made with the sole mission of becoming debt-free. The film proved successful enough for Boney to pay off the significant debt, leaving him with a modest Rs 1 lakh.
Anil Kapoor, then a teenager, also realized he couldn’t remain a spectator. He started taking on various odd jobs in the industry, from waking up actors to fetching them from the airport and looking after their needs on set. He wanted to ease the burden on his ailing father.
- Surinder Kapoor started from humble beginnings after Partition, living in an outhouse and a small ‘kholi’.
- He became a Bollywood producer with help from industry stalwarts like Geeta Bali.
- Major film flops led to significant debt and legal battles, compounded by his declining health.
- His sons, Boney and Anil Kapoor, took early responsibility, working to clear family debts and support their father.
The early struggles and setbacks faced by Surinder Kapoor profoundly shaped his sons, especially Boney Kapoor, instilling in them a resilience that continues to guide their careers through both triumphs and challenges.
