Portrait of Raj Kapoor

Birthday profile

Raj Kapoor

Raj Kapoor, Indian actor, director, and producer (died 1988)

Born
December 14, 1924
Died
June 2, 1988
Zodiac sign
Sagittarius
Birth year
1924

About Raj Kapoor

Ranbir Raj Kapoor (pronounced [raːdʒ kəˈpuːɾ]; born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), popularly known as Raj Kapoor was an Indian actor and filmmaker who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers in the history of Indian cinema. He has been referred to as The Greatest Showman of Indian Cinema as well as The Charlie Chaplin of Indian Cinema. Born in Peshawar as the eldest son of Prithviraj Kapoor of the Kapoor family, Raj Kapoor starred in and produced many films for which he received multiple accolades, including three National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards in India. He was inspired by Charlie Chaplin and played characters based on The Tramp in films, such as Awāra (1951), Shree 420 (1955) and Mera Naam Joker (1970). His performance in Awāra was ranked as one of the "Top-Ten Greatest Performances of All Time in World Cinema" by Time magazine in 2005. His films Awāra (1951) and Boot Polish (1954) competed for the Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1951 and 1955. His films were global commercial successes in parts of Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Soviet bloc. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1971 for his contributions to the arts. India's highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, was bestowed to him in 1988 by the Government of India.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Raj Kapoor was born

Raj Kapoor was born in 1924. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1924

  • #1 song"It Had to Be You" – Isham Jones
  • Top movieThe Thief of Bagdad (Douglas Fairbanks)
  • Best-selling bookSo Big – Edna Ferber

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
  • Top headlineCalvin Coolidge elected president in a landslide
  • Technology milestoneIBM founded
  • Defining fadMah-jongg craze sweeps America
  • Notable inventionSpiral-bound notebook
  • World population1.95 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championWashington Senators (World Series)
  • U.S. population114.1M

1924 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Raj Kapoor's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19242026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$5,800$435,000
Average income$3,520$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population114.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.