Often after marking entry into the film industry, actors change their names and adopt a stage name which makes them popular. Take Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Akshay Kumar and others. There is yet another Bollywood actor who has worked as a character artist for decades. This celebrity has worked for about 40 years in at least 700 films but many still do not know his real name. On the occasion of his birthday, let’s find out who the actor is.
On September 3, actor Shakti Kapoor celebrated his 72nd birthday. He was born into a Punjabi family and his father was a clothing businessman who owned a shop in Connaught Place, Delhi. When the actor was born, he was named Sunil Kapoor, but when he chartered into the film industry, it was the revered actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis who coined his name Shakti Kapoor, which gained him immense fame and recognition.
Shakti Kapoor’s father always wanted his son to take over the family business, but he found his calling in the film industry. Despite his resistance, he used to sit at the shop. As per reports, his friends knew about his real passion and filled out the Film And Television Institute of India (FTII) form on his behalf without informing him. Shakti Kapoor talked about the incident later in an interview where he shared that an FTII letter had arrived at his house which had details about the written exam. In the audition process, the actor recalled seeing Dada Muni Ashok Kumar, actress Kamini Kaushal and director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Funnily, the actor was not nervous at all because he was sure that he had no chance of being chosen. But he did catch the eyes of the panel. As per the Raja Babu actor, 48,000 people had auditioned and only 10 were selected. From Delhi, there were just 3 men chosen, Anil Dhawan, Naseeruddin Shah and Shakti Kapoor.
In his initial films, in the credits, his real name Sunil Kapoor was used. But in 1977, the actor met Sunil Dutt, who was impressed by his photos, especially his eyes. Reportedly, the next day, Sunil Dutt called him to the office about wanting to launch him in a big film and wanted to offer him the role of a villain. It was then that his name was changed from Sunil to Shakti.
Shakti Kapoor’s professional endeavours show that he has always played the supporting role, sometimes a comedic role, other times a villain. He has essayed the role of a lead hero just once and was unsuccessful. He played the lead role in Zakhmi Insaan. Reportedly, the film was released at noon in theatres and was taken down by 12:30 pm which led to an enormous loss for distributors and producers.
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