Shakti Kapoor

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shakti Kapoor

• Shakti Kapoor is an Indian actor and comedian. He is popular for playing negative and comic roles in Hindi films.

• In childhood, he was rusticated from three schools for his bad behaviour. ^[9]The Times of India

  

• He was inclined towards sports since childhood, and he used to play cricket for his school and college cricket teams. He got admission to college on sports quota. Once, while he was hanging out with the girlfriend of his college cricket captain, he got caught by him. Thereafter, the cricket captain started giving him harsh punishments to teach him a lesson; as a result, Shakti Kapoor quit playing cricket.

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• In college, he was ragged by his seniors. In an interview, he talked about ragging in his college. He said,
  

  I studied in KMC, the same college where Amitabh Bachchan studied. Ragging was common then. I remember a group of Jaat seniors tried to rag me. They took me to the hostel and wanted to do something weird with me. They asked me to pull my pants down and go around the college. But I escaped.”

• While he was pursuing graduation, he got an opportunity to work as a model. His first modelling assignment was for a print advertisement of Panama cigarette. During an interview, while talking about it, he said,
  

  I was a model before I passed college: Vishnu panwalla in in Karol Bagh, from whom I bought cigarettes, put up a poster of me in his kiosk and urged me to become an actor. I realised I could earn money by modelling. My first ad campaign was for Surya Bansi Suitings, with Jalal Agha’s wife Valerie. I made between Rs 150-350 per assignment and spent the money on cigarettes and booze!”

  

• He then appeared in a few more modelling assignments.

  

• Shakti’s father wanted him to join the family business, but he wanted to start a travel agency. He even worked with a few travel agencies for experience but could not start his company. During an interview, while talking about it, he said,
  

  When I passed out of KMC with 43 per cent marks, my father agreed to let me join a travel agency, and assured me that he would help me set up my own place. I worked with Mercury Travels and Asian Travels. I made my contacts, learnt about ticketing and visas and was all set to open my own agency when my father backed out. I felt totally cheated.”

• After completing his graduation, he joined FTII (Film and Television Institute of India), Pune. During an interview, Shakti Kapoor shared that one of his friends filled out his form for admission to FTII without his knowledge and surprisingly, Shakti cleared the interview, but his friends couldn’t. While talking about the same, he said,
  

  I booked a ticket for Pune and left with Rs 700. While on the train, I befriended Anil Verman, who was also going to FTII. He suggested I accompany him to his sister’s home in Mumbai. Once there, I saw Vinod Khanna walk into the house. Anil’s sister was married to Vinod’s brother Pramod! And with Vinod were Rakesh and Rajesh Roshan! They came to drop us at FTII. We drove in a Ford, beer bottles in hand. I felt like a star!”

  He then shared the memories of his first day at the FTII. He said,

  When we reached FTII, I walked up to this dark guy in a lungi and said, You wanna have some beer Mithun Chakrabarti declined. That night, Mithun, Vijayendra Ghatge and another senior, took me into a room, switched off the lights, splashed water on my face, chopped off my newly-styled hair and threatened me with the worst if they caught me drinking. Terrified, I didn’t leave my room for the next four days. After the initial ragging, I was friends with Mithun.”

  He added,

  While at FTII, I did ad films. These credentials secured a role in Khel Khiladi Par. The film didn’t do well, but I was noticed. I stayed as a paying guest for Rs 250 per month till Anil Verman gave me free accommodation in an apartment, where I stayed for seven years. Ad campaigns gave me money to buy a rickety Fiat. Once, while driving down Linking Road, a Mercedes crashed into me. I rushed out to demand damages. But when Feroze Khan stepped out of the Merc, I forgot everything and begged him for a role. There were 500 people watching.”

• Shakti started his acting career in 1975 with the Bollywood film ‘Ranjit Khanal’ in which he played the role of Anand which was a small role in the film.

• He has acted in the Hindi films ‘Alibaba Marjinaa’ (1977), ‘Sargam’ (1979), ‘Qurbani’ (1980), and ‘Rocky’ (1981).

  

• In 1980 while shooting for the Hindi film ‘Kismet,’ he met Shivangi Kolhapure. Soon, they fell in love with each other. At that time Shivangi was 18 years old and was 12 years younger than Shakti. Shivangi’s parents were strict and did not want Shakti to be their daughter’s husband for two reasons. The first was because of their age gap, and the second was that they didn’t like Shakti’s negative roles in the films. Later, they locked Sivangi in a room so she cannot meet Shakti. After a few days, Shakti and Shivangi eloped and got married. Shakti got the name cradle-snatcher after he eloped with Shivangi. In an interview, while talking about those days, Shakti said,
  

  Shivangi and I eloped and got married. She is Maharashtrian and I am Punjabi. I played the villain and my reputation was not good. Her family did not agree to the marriage, so we had to run away. She was 18 when we got married (in 1982). When she was 19, my son Siddhanth was born. That was the first time Shivangi’s mother spoke to her after our marriage when she came to meet her at Breach Candy Hospital.”

  He then talked about his family’s reaction. He said,

  Shivangi’s family did not agree to our relationship, so we eloped and got married. My father, Sikandarlal Kapoor in Delhi got to know about it, he decided not to talk to me. My mother asked him to meet the girl once. As soon as he saw Shivangi, who is 10-12 years younger to me, he was like badi pyaari bachhi hai (He said that she is really nice). She sang two lines and my father stood up and asked how come she sings so well. I told Lata ji is her first cousin, He stood up and said ‘Teri sab galtiyaan maaf (All your mistakes are forgiven), because you got married in such big family.’ He asked her to sing Lata ji’s song and shared that he a huge fan of hers. As soon as Shivangi sang, he got emotional.”

• He started gaining popularity as an actor with the Hindi films ‘Satte Pe Satta’ (1982), ‘Hero’ (1983), ‘Ghar Ek Mandir’ (1984), ‘ChaalBaaz’ (1989), and ‘Baaghi: A Rebel for Love’ (1990).

  

• He has acted in more than 700 Hindi films including ‘Raja Babu’ (1994), ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ (1994), ‘Coolie No. 1’ (1995), ‘Judwaa’ (1997), ‘Gunda’ (1998), and ‘Hungama’ (2003).

• His dialogues in some of his films became very popular. Some of his popular dialogues are “Aaaooo Lolita” from the movie Tohfa (1984), “Main Nanha sa Chotta sa Bachcha Hoon” from the film ‘ChaalBaaz’ (1989), and “Nandu sabka bandhu, samajhta nahi hai yaar” from the film ‘Raja Babu’ (1994).

• In one of his interviews, he shared that in the 90s era, he became a popular villain and used to get sexy fan mails. He further said that girls even used to send him their undergarments for his autograph. ^[10]International Business Times

• Reportedly, he did a paid campaign for the Trinamool Congress candidate Madan Mitra in 2004. ^[11]The New Indian Express

• In the first two decades of the 3rd millennium (AD), Shakti Kapoor played supporting roles in many popular Hindi films like ‘Malamaal Weekly’ (2006), ‘Chup Chup Ke’ (2006), ‘Bhagam Bhag’ (2006), ‘De Dana Dan’ (2009), and ‘Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3’ (2016).

  

• Some of his Telugu films are ‘Yuddha Bhoomi’ (1988) and ‘Sahasam’ (2013).

• In 2007, Shakti, along with his wife Shivangi, participated in the TV dance reality show ‘Nach Baliye’ season 3.

  

• He has also participated in the TV reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ season 5 (2011).

  

• He has appeared in a few TV commercials such as Bombay Shaving Company, RK Enclave, and Cruise Deo Body Spray.

• He appeared in the ZEE5 web series ‘Parchhayee’ in 2019 in which he played the character of Prem Bahadur.

  

• Shakti Kapoor has participated in the Star Bharat Hindi stand-up comedy show ‘Gangs of Filmistaan’ (2020).

  

• He shared a good bond with the late Indian actor Sunil Dutt. Dutt suggested him to adopt the screen name Shakti Kapoor. Sunil Dutt used to give Rs 1500 to Shakti Kapoor for monthly expenses while Shakti was a struggling actor. ^[12]OrissaPOST

• He has been friends with the legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan for a very long time. In an interview, while remembering the old days with Amitabh Bachchan, he said,
  

  We worked together in ‘Mahaan’. We were shooting for some fight sequences in Delhi during winters. Mr Bachchan came to know that I am from Delhi so he asked me if I can get a home-cooked meal for him as he is bored of eating outside food. I promised him to get some the next day. I went home and told my mother that Amitabh Bachchan wanted to eat some home-cooked meals. As Big B is vegetarian, my mother cooked sarson ka saag, paneer ki sabji and makki ki roti for him. My brother got the tiffin on the set for us. During lunchtime, Mr Bachchan sat in a corner and started eating. In no time, he finished about 5-6 makki roti with saag and paneer ki sabji. After the meal, he thanked me by saying that he ate a home-cooked meal after a long time and he enjoyed it thoroughly.”

  

• He is often spotted smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol at various parties and events. ^[13]Rediff

• In December 2024, UP Police revealed that the gang that had kidnapped the actor Mushtaq Khan had also planned on kidnapping Shakti to demand ransom. As per the cops, Shakti too had received an offer to attend an event in Delhi; however, it could not materialise as he had demanded a higher fee.

‘ChaalBaaz’ (1989)