Pankaj Kapur

Pankaj Kapur
Kapur in 2022
Born	(1954-05-29) 29 May 1954 (age 70) Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Alma mater	National School of Drama
Occupation(s)	Actor, story writer, screenwriter, director
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	Neelima Azeem ​ ​ (m. 1979; div. 1984)​ [1] Supriya Pathak ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	3, including Shahid
Relatives	Dina Pathak (mother-in-law) Ratna Pathak (sister-in-law)

Pankaj Kapur (born 29 May 1954) is an Indian actor who has worked in Hindi theatre, television and films. Recipient of a Filmfare Award and three National Film Awards, his most acclaimed film roles include that of Inspector P.K. in Raakh (1989), Dr. Dipankar Roy in Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1991) and Abba ji in Maqbool (2004), the latter based on Shakespeare's King Duncan in Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of Macbeth.^[2]

In the 1980s, he became a household name through the TV series Karamchand, a comedy television series in the detective genre. And in the millennium, Office Office, a comic satire on prevalent corruption in India.^[2]

In 1988, he married his second wife, actress Supriya Pathak, daughter of actress Dina Pathak, with whom he has a daughter and a son. His sister-in-law is actress Ratna Pathak Shah, who is married to actor Naseeruddin Shah. His son (from his first marriage to actress Neelima Azeem) is actor Shahid Kapoor.

Early and personal life

Shahid Kapoor, Supriya Pathak and Pankaj Kapur attend the screening of Teri Meri Kahaani

Pankaj Kapur was born on 29 May 1954 in a Hindu family Ludhiana, Punjab.^[3] He completed his education in Punjab and developed a keen interest in theatre and acting while growing up. He then enrolled in the National School of Drama to pursue his interest.^[4]

He married actress and dancer Neelima Azeem in 1979. They were settled in New Delhi where they had their only child Shahid Kapoor in 1981. The couple divorced in 1984.^[1]

Pankaj Kapur went on to marry actress Supriya Pathak in 1988. They have one daughter Sanah Kapur and a son Ruhaan Kapur. On 2 March 2022 Sanah married Mayank Pahwa whereas in September 2023 Ruhaan married Manukriti Pahwa both siblings being the children of actors Manoj Pahwa and Seema Bhargava Pahwa^[5]

Career

After graduating from National School of Drama, he did theatre for the next four years, until he was offered a role in Gandhi by Richard Attenborough. Over the years, as a director, he has done over 74 plays and serials, including Mohandas B.A.L.L.B., Wah Bhai Wah, Sahabji Biwiji Ghulamji and Drishtanth, Kanak Di Balli, Albert's Bridge and Panchvan Savaar.^[6]

He made his film debut with Shyam Benegal's film Arohan (1982). Following that he played Mahatma Gandhi's second secretary, Pyarelal Nayyar, in the Richard Attenborough film Gandhi in 1982. Later he dubbed for Ben Kingsley in the Hindi version of the film.

Thereafter he appeared in a string of art films that came under the parallel cinema category, with leading art films directors, starting with Shyam Benegal's Mandi (1983), Kundan Shah's comedy Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro again in 1983. This was followed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza satirical Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984), Mrinal Sen's Khandhar (1984), and Vidhu Vinod Chopra's suspense thriller Khamosh in 1985. He appeared in a number of art films, many of which went on to win National Film Awards.

In 1986, he switched to television, with the role of Karamchand jasoos(detective) in the detective-comedy, Karamchand, also starring Sushmita Mukherjee.^[7] Over the years he has been seen in numerous TV serials, including, Kab Tak Pukaroon (Doordarshan) Zabaan Sambhaal Ke (a remake of the English TV series, Mind Your Language), Lifeline with Vijaya Mehta, Neem ka Ped and finally comic interludes in Philips Top 10.

Meanwhile, his tryst with art cinema continued, as he starred in films like Chameli Ki Shaadi (1986), Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986), and Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin (1987). In 1987, his comic side was visible again in the commercial action film Jalwa, also starring Naseeruddin Shah.

His first National Film Award came with the 1989 film, Raakh, which also starred Aamir Khan.

He starred in the classic Punjabi film Marhi Da Diva (1989). He featured in the 1992 Mani Ratnam film Roja directed. (Roja was made in Tamil and later dubbed in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Malayalam.)

His strongest performance in the early part of his career came from his lead role of struggling scientist in the film Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1991), for which he was awarded the 1991 National Film Award – Special Jury Award.

In 2000 he returned to television with the serial Office Office a satirical take on the prevalent corruption in India.

In 2003 he appeared in Maqbool, Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His antagonistic performance as the short-statured, potbellied, shuffle-footed Abbaji in Maqbool got him the 2004 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Meanwhile, he released films like The Blue Umbrella (2005), Dus (2005) and Halla Bol (2007). In 2006, he started to be seen again on TV. In the TV series, Naya Office Office, a sequel to his previous series Office Office.

On 11 January 2013, the Vishal Bharadwaj-directed film Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, starring Kapur was released.

In November 2019, Kapur made his literature debut with his novella 'Dopehri', which he had written in 1992.^[8][9] Presently he appears in the television series named ‘Naya Office Office’ which itself is a sequel to the previous hit TV series ‘Office Office’.^[10] Now the actor can be seen in the movie Bheed, released on 24 March 2023.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1981	Hari Hondal Bargadar : Share Cropper
	Kahan Kahan Se Guzar Gaya
1982	Gandhi	Pyarelal Nayyar
	Aadharshila
1983	Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro	Tarneja
	Arohan
	Mandi	Shanti Devi's Assistant
1984	Khandhar	Dipu
	Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!
1985	Khamosh	Kukku
	Aitbaar	Advocate Jha	Uncredited
	Aghaat	Chotelal
1986	Chameli Ki Shaadi	Kallumal "Koylawala"
	Musafir	Shankeran Pillai
	Ek Ruka Hua Faisla	Juror #3	TV adaptation of 12 Angry Men[11]
1987	Jalwa	Albert Pinto
	Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin	Rohit
	Susman
1988	Main Zinda Hoon
	Ek Aadmi
	Tamas	Thekedaar	Television Film
1989	Agla Mausam
	Raakh	Inspector P.K	National Film Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Marhi Da Deeva	Raunaki	Punjabi film
	Kamla Ki Maut	Sudhakar Patel
1990	Ek Doctor Ki Maut	Dr. Dipankar Roy	National Film Award – Special Jury Award (feature film)
	Shadyantra	Sub-Inspector Tabrez Mohammad 'Tabbu' Khan
1992	Roja	Liaqat	Tamil film
1993	Aakanksha	Ahmed
	The Burning Season	Ashok Sarkar
1994	Kokh
1995	Ram Jaane	Pannu Technicolor
1997	Rui Ka Bojh
2002	Jackpot Do Karode	Rana
2003	Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon	Satyaprakash
	Maqbool	Jahangir Khan (Abbaji)	National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics)
2005	Dus	Jamwal	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role
	The Blue Umbrella	Nand Kishore
	Sehar	Prof. Bhole Shankar Tiwari
2007	Dharm	Pundit Chaturvedi
2008	Halla Bol	Sidhu
2009	Love Khichdi	Subramani in Dream Fantasy
2010	Good Sharma	Hanuman
2011	Chala Musaddi Office Office	Musaddi Lal Tripathi
2013	Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola	Harry Mandola	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
2014	Finding Fanny	Don Pedro	English film
2015	Shaandaar	Bipin Arora
2018	Toba Tek Singh	Toba Tek Singh	[12]
2019	Happi	Happi	Delayed film Released on Zee5
2022	Jersey	Coach
2023	Lost	Nanu	Zee5 film[13]
	Bheed	Balram Trivedi
2024	Binny And Family
TBA	Jab Khuli Kitaab		[14]

Director

• Mausam (2011) Starring Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Jaspal Bhatti
• Mohandas B.A.L.L.B. (1998)

Writer

• Sau Jhooth Ek Sach (2005)

Television

• Karamchand (Season 1) (1985–1988)
• Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne (1989-1990)
• Zabaan Sambhalke (Season 1) (1993-1994) as Mohan Bharti
• Neem Ka Ped (1991) as Budhai Ram
• Phatichar (1991)
• Lifeline with Vijaya Mehta
• Zabaan Sambhalke (Season 2) (1997-1998) as Mohan Bharti
• Mohandas B.A.L.L.B. (1997-1998)
• Office Office (2000) as Musaddi Lal
• Bharat Ek Khoj
• Tehreer as Munshi Premchand Ki – Godaan by Doordarshan (2004)
• Kab Tak Pukaroon
• Naya Office Office (2006–2009)
• Karamchand (Season 2) (2007)
• JL50 (2020)
• IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack (2024)

Dubbing roles

Live action films

Film Title	Actor(s)	Character(s)	Dub Language	Original Language	Original Year release	Dub Year release	Notes
Gandhi	Ben Kingsley	Mahatma Gandhi	Hindi	English	1982	1982	Pankaj also played Mahatma Gandhiji's Assistant Pyarelal Nayyar in movie

Awards and nominations

Film awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2005	IIFA Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Maqbool	Nominated
2006		Best Performance in a Negative Role	Dus	Nominated
1990	Filmfare Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Raakh	Nominated
2005		Best Actor (Critics)	Maqbool	Won
2006		Best Performance in a Negative Role	Dus	Nominated
2014		Best Supporting Actor	Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola	Nominated
1989	National Film Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Raakh	Won
1991		Special Jury Award	Ek Doctor Ki Maut	Won
2004		Best Supporting Actor	Maqbool	Won
2004	Producers Guild Film Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting Role		Won
2015		Best Actor in a Comic Role	Finding Fanny	Nominated
2006	Screen Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Maqbool	Nominated
2008		Best Actor in a Negative Role	The Blue Umbrella	Won
2009		Best Supporting Actor	Halla Bol	Nominated
2005	Zee Cine Awards	Best Actor (Critics)	Maqbool	Won
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male		Nominated

Television awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2021	Asian Television Awards	Best Actor in a Leading Role	JL50	Nominated
2003	Indian Television Academy Awards	Best Actor - Comedy	Office Office	Won
2004				Won
2007				Won
2002	Indian Telly Awards	Best Actor in a Comic Role		Won
2003				Won
2004				Nominated
2006				Nominated
2007				Nominated

References

1. "Neelima Azeem on divorce from Pankaj Kapur when Shahid Kapoor was 3.5 years old: 'I didn't decide to separate, he moved on'". Hindustan Times. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
2. "Punjab is a land of great writers and actors, says Pankaj Kapur". hindustantimes.com/. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
3. "Happy Birthday Pankaj Kapur: What Shahid Kapoor has said about his Father". News18. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
4. Rathore, Vinod (28 May 2020). "Pankaj Kapoor was on the hearts of people with this role". News Track. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
5. Garoo, Rohit (17 October 2016). "Pankaj Kapur Marriage: Love Truly Deserves A Second Chance". The Bridal Box. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
6. "Pankaj Kapur: My son Shahid Kapoor is smart. He became a star first, then an actor". India Today. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
7. "Karamchand was first of its kind, says Pankaj Kapur". Hindustan Times. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
8. "Pankaj Kapur on his literary debut and why it took 27 years". The Indian Express. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
9. "Actor Pankaj Kapur's debut novel 'Dopehri' revolves around 'Amma Bi'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
10. "Pankaj Kapur". Koimoi. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
11. Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986). imdb.com
12. "Pankaj Kapur in Toba Tek Singh". Deccan Chronicle. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
13. "Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury on Lost: It will make you question, introspect, and tug at your heartstrings". Pinkvilla. 11 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
14. "Dimple Kapadia, Pankaj Kapur to star in rom-com 'Jab Khuli Kitaab'". ANI News. 21 December 2021.

External links

• Pankaj Kapur at IMDb 
• Pankaj Kapur at Bollywood Hungama
• Interview with Pankaj Kapoor 16 October 2002