Prithviraj Kapoor, affectionately known as Papaji, received the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1972, for the year 1971. This was the first occasion that this prestigious award was given posthumously, and was received by his eldest son, Raj Kapoor.

Prithviraj Kapoor was born at Peshawar on 3rd November 1906. Though he studied Law, he did not practice, being attracted towards the threatre from an early age.

He started his film career with the silent film Challenge which was produced by Imperial Film Co. in 1929, and when this concern made the first Hindi talkie Alam Ara, Prithviraj was very much there, his booming voice being found very suitable for the talking medium.

During the earluy 1930s, Calcutta was the major production centre in India, and Prithviraj Kapoor was one of the many Bombay artistes who made their way Eastward. His films at Calcutta included Seta, After the Earthquake and Vidyapati. Shortly afterwads, he was summoned back to Bombay by Sohrab Modi, to play the lead in Sikander. It was generally conceded that he was the perfect Alexander The Great. In this context, his later role as Akbar in K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam has been recorded.

Prithviraj could never shake off his attraction for the stage, even when winning much success with his films. He formed Prithvi Theatres at a time when the Hindi drama world was in the doldrums, and toured all over the country with his plays Paisa, Shakuntala, Ahooti and Kalakar. His son Raj Kapoor received his early training in acting with Prithvi Theatres, as did many other artistes who gained fame later.

Prithviraj took the rather unfortunate step of producing a film on his stageplay, Paisa. It was a disaster. However, Raj Kapoor came forward to bail him out of a very difficult situation.

If not for anything else, Prithviraj kapoor will always be remembered as the Patriarch of the Kapoor clan which has provided so many outstanding personalities to films for three generations. This provided Raj Kapoor with the inspiration to make Kal Aaj aur Kal.

Prithviraj was the first nominated film member of Rajya Sabha for eight years. He was a Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Prithviraj was awarded Padma Bhushan by the President in 1969.

The former Prime Minister Shrimati Indira Gandhi, who was also the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting had sent the following message "Prithviraj was an artiste with a social conscience" on learning of his death. He receivd BFJA Award Best Actor for Devdasi (Hindi) 1945.

Prithviraj Kapoor's Filmography