The ‘Pop’ stars of Bollywood: Fathers competing with sons

By Rajiv Vijayakar -

October 9, 2012 - 1:16 AM IST

It is official: with Barfi! Ranbir Kapoor has entered the elite 100-crore club, making 2012 a super year for his family - with Rishi Kapoor coming in twice over in the same league, first with its astounding turn as Rauf Lala in Agneepath and then as the podgy curmudgeon of a father in Housefull 2, who drives the madcap plot of the film along with elder brother Randhir Kapoor's character.

Ranbir's entry was long overdue but stonewalled only by his predominantly esoteric choice of films. But Rishi was - back in the haloed days of genuine 25 to 100-week runners - a hero second only to Bachchan in the track-record of almost 20 blockbusters, mainly solo, from Bobby in 1973 to Deewana (Shah Rukh Khan's first release - and Rishi did not let him steal the show) and Bol Radha Bol (with Rishi in a dual roles) in 1992!

The ‘Pop’ stars of Bollywood: Fathers competing with sons

The Kapoor's predisposition to accumulating fat alongside histrionic experience did lead to a trough after that - but how long can you keep a world-class actor down? Though Rishi has excelled from the millennium in films as variegated as Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi, Yeh Hai Jalwa, Kucch To Hai, Hum Tum, Pyaar Mein Twist, Fanaa, Namastey London, Delhi-6, Love Aaj Kal, Chintuji, Do Dooni Chaar and Patiala House with incredible consistency, he was considered more of a good character artiste than a saleable one.

Rishi Kapoor

But Agneepath changed all that. Today, Rishi happens to be busier than his son, and even small roles are offered to him only if they are deserving of his stature. As of today, Rishi is set to release Student of The Year (as a gay professor!) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan for Yash Chopra and has signed Subhash Ghai's directorial as a villainous musician - protagonist, the remake of Chashme Buddoor, Tips' next and - if it does get going - Mehrunissa with Amitabh Bachchan.

Ranbir on the other hand has only Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani on the floors, though he has signed a film with Abhinav Kashyap and is said to have Okayed a couple of other projects.

What makes Rishi Kapoor give Ranbir Kapoor - in that sense - a run for his money? It is simply his incredible talent, his fluid persona that fits perfectly into any container (role) and his huge respect for the audiences that allow or permit experimentation only with complete respect for the audience. It is an open secret that Rishi is not very happy about most of his son's choice of films but like any true Kapoor he does not interfere!

There have been very few monumental talents that have lasted long enough in the game to be in competition with their sons. We now look at five other fathers (sadly, there are no mom-daughter pairs in this list!) who have remained solidly in form as well as market demands even when their sons made it big.

Dharmendra

Dharmendra is the first obvious name that comes to mind. Never mind if he had a long box-office lull between the late '80s and Apne in 2007, because that was only because he was doing multiple low-grade films to fund causes like looking after multiple relatives and setting up film-related businesses. The flopping of these films may have taken a toll on the quality of offers he was getting, but never was his popularity at ebb, with Punjab, UK and USA being especially strong.

True again that his successful sons Sunny and Bobby Deol decided to get him out of the rut with Apne, but that was because they knew his potential both as a star and (an always underrated) actor. Both Apne and Yamla Pagla Deewana proved that on screen, come drama or comedy, the senior Deol, with casual artlessness, could steal the scene, thunder and limelight from his two sons! Today, a still very Garam Dharam is set to bowl over his old and new fans again in Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 and has inspired Subhash Ghai to plan a film with the three of them as well.

Amitabh Bachchan

That Amitabh Bachchan has been that insurmountable benchmark son Abhishek Bachchan cannot match is an unfair yardstick always applied to poor Bachchan Jr., but it is probably a cross he will have to bear. Because comparisons will always be there if he essays tough characters like his dad, and if he does different ones, the verdict will be that he cannot do what his father did!

Commercially, at 70, Bachchan Sr.'s presence in a movie, even if in cameos in Bol Bachchan or English Vinglish, is taken as a higher value addition than Abhishek's presence (and impressive performance) in an entire film! Once again, this may be callous for Abhishek, but only underscores the sheer powerhouse talent and charisma of his dad, who has roles written for him at this age!

Yash Chopra

It does not matter if the announcement of the grand Czar's quitting direction after his new film Jab Tak Hai Jaan is true or (as speculated) a promotional tool. The irrevocable fact is that even 53 years after his directorial debut, a Yash Chopra film (Dil To Pagal Hai, Veer-Zaraa as well) is as much (if not more) exciting for the trade and film buffs as - even after the all-time whopper Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge - his son Aditya Chopra's directorial ventures like Mohabbatein or Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi! More - remove the YRF brand from Aditya's multiple annual productions and interest in them would be a fraction of what it is!

Kishore Kumar

In 1969, Kishore Kumar revived his career by shifting from acting and singing only for Dev Anand and himself to full-fledged playback. That was only six years before son Amit Kumar turned a playback singer with Aandhi (released) and Balika Badhu (recorded). Though Amit continued having popular songs in the '70s, it was only in the early '80s (Qurbani, Love Story, Hum Paanch) that Amit made real headway in his individual capacity.

Kishore's generation of top names (Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor) were either no more or passÃ© by then, but Kishore till his sudden death in 1987 never let any young singer overtake him, which included his son with whom he even shared so many duets!

S.D.Burman

It is a given in the music industry that a composer runs down younger names, especially when they replace you in the popularity charts and with the big banners. But Sachin Dev Burman, the true blue-blooded maestro whose origins were from a royal family, never let this contingency arise. Rather than badmouthing the next generation that dominated the late '60s and '70s - Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji and R.D.Burman - this composer who had started off in 1946 kept reinventing and competed with all of them - all the way till his death in 1975!

Exhibiting a rare consistency in his songs, this always ahead-of-his-time genius made sure that his songs were as novel, as instantly-appealing and yet enduring, and as 'young' as his son and the son's chief competitors.