Vinod Kapri

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vinod Kapri

• Vinod Kapri is an Indian journalist, director, writer, and producer. He is known for his work in Hindi films like Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho, Pihu, and 1232 KMS.

• Although he was born in Secunderabad, he belongs to Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. His father served the Indian Army, and due to his father’s frequent transfers, he received his education at various locations including Kendriya Vidyalaya in Andhra Pradesh, Secunderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Udhampur, Siliguri in West Bengal, and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.

  

• He started writing short stories when he was studying in 9th standard. In 1987, at the age of 16, he wrote a story for Amar Ujala for which he received a money order of Rs. 15. Later, his stories were published in many Hindi dailies including Dainik Jagran, Dainik Hindustan, and Dainik Aaj. In his school days, he wrote a novel that was published in a newspaper as a weekly series.

• At the age of 19, Vinod Kapri launched a monthly magazine, Indian Econo Patrika.

• At the age of 20, he started his career as a journalist with the Hindi daily Jansandesh. In 1992, he joined Dainik Jagran as a trainee, where he worked for four months. Later, he joined Amar Ujala as a reporter.

• In 1995, he joined Zee News as a trainee reporter, where, within a year, Editor Rajat Sharma assigned him to cover an important story on the UPA government. By 1996, Vinod Kapri had become an established political reporter. During his stint at Zee News, he also worked as Bureau Chief in Uttar Pradesh.

• In 1998, he started producing and anchoring the weekly show ‘Ek Aur Nazariya’ on Zee India TV, and during this time, he also recorded documentaries on Dalai Lama, homosexuals, euthanasia, Doms of Benares, Mahakumbh of Allahabad, and Aghori Sadhu of Haridwar; reportedly, it was the first time when a documentary on Aghori Sadhu was telecast on television. From 1999 to 2001, he produced a morning show on Zee News, Morning Zee.

• In 2002, he became the output editor at Zee News. In 2004, he joined Star News as an executive producer. In 2007, he joined India TV as managing editor.

• As a news reporter, Vinod Kapri hosted many popular shows including News top 10, Hindustan Hamara, Crime Reporter, Kaun Hai, 24 Ghante 24 Reporter, Aaj Ki Pahli Khabar, Top 20 reporter, Superfast 200, and Nonstop Superfast. Apart from these news shows, Kapri is also known for making documentaries on the 13 December Parliament attack, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, and the life of Anna Hazare.

• In 2004, he hosted a live TV show on a Muslim couple, Aarif and Gudiya.

• After his stint as a journalist, Kapri tried his hand in filmmaking, and in 2014, he made a documentary film Can’t Take This Shit Anymore, which was based on the real story of six women who had quit their husband’s home as they didn’t have toilets at their home. The film addressed the issue of rural women in India who have to defecate in the open. The film won an award in the Best Film on Social Issues category at the 62nd National Film Awards.

• In 2015, he made his Bollywood debut with Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho, which was a political satire. The film was based on a real incident in Rajasthan. The film earned him critical acclaim, and many prominent personalities of the Indian film industry praised him for this film including Amitabh Bachchan and Anurag Kashyap. The film was released by Fox Star Studios. In an interview, while talking about the appreciations that he received from such celebrities, Kapri said,
  

  It feels good when such big celebrities, who are in the industry for so many years, appreciate your work. There was a time when I was in doubt about the film’s release, but Hirani sahab and Anurag Kashyap helped me a lot. They watched my film and showed confidence in it. They were of the view that my work will be recognised.”

• In 2015, he established a film production company, Bhagirathi Films, which was named after his mother. ^[4]bhagirathifilms

• In 2018, he made a drama thriller film “Pihu.” The film is known for having only one cast and one character, a two-year-old girl. Pihu was widely appreciated in International film festivals such as Vancouver International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival (California), Fajr International Film Festival (Tehran), and Indian Film festival (Stuttgart).

• In 2021, he made a Hindi documentary film 1232 KMS that was based on the journey of seven migrant labourers during the Covid-19 Lockdown in India.

• Vinod Kapri often shares his critical views on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on various social media platforms, and on 15 March 2022, he announced on social media that he wanted to make a film titled Gujarat Files, and he asked Narendra Modi if he could assure him that there will be no hurdles in the film’s release.

• On 21 March 2022, he shared a video of a 19-year-old boy named Pradeep Mehra from Almora, Uttarakhand. In the video, the boy can be seen running on the streets of Noida, and he declines the offer of Kapri to give him a lift to his home in Kapri’s car. When Kapri asked the boy why he was running, the boy replied that he wanted to join the Indian Army, and the 10 km-long run from his workplace to home was part of his daily practice. Soon after Kapri shared the video on Twitter, it went viral on social media.

• Vinod Kapri is a fitness enthusiast. He often posts pictures and videos of his gym sessions on various social media platforms.

• Vinod Kapri loves to enjoy alcoholic beverages on various occasions.

  

• Vinod Kapri has also been spotted smoking cigarettes on various occasions.

  

• He is an avid dog lover and often posts pictures of them on social media.