Colonel Raj Kapoor, the director who introduced Shah Rukh Khan in 1988's hit television show Fauji, passed away at a hospital in Delhi on Thursday, 11 April. He was 87.
Shah Rukh Khan took to social media to express his condolences saying that the late director “made a fauji out of a boy, like his own”.
“He loved me so much. Encouraged me. And today if I am used to being mollycoddled on sets it’s because of this man who made a ‘Fauji’ out of a boy, like his own. Will miss you Sir... always. May u find peace in ur (sic) new mission,” he wrote.
Shekhar Kapur recalled the time Colonel Raj Kapoor introduced him to Shah Rukh Khan saying, “Watch this young man.” SRK responded to his tweet adding, “And he was so jovial, Somehow in the midst of all stresses he had a way that could make u smile away ur (sic) troubles.”
One of Kapoor's three daughters, Ritambhara, told news agency IANS that her father's death was sudden. "My father died at 10:10 pm yesterday. He was in a hospital for sometime, but his death was very sudden. He was otherwise in good health... He went quite peacefully," she said.
A Facebook post from Kapoor's family read: "This is to inform you that our beloved dad, Raj Kumar Kapoor, has left his earthly body to go on a brand new adventure."
Kapoor had said in Samar Khan's book, SRK: 25 Years of a Life, released in 2016, that it amused him that he was only remembered for discovering Shah Rukh Khan.
"I've been an actor, I've fought three wars, but all that anybody seems to remember is that I launched Shah Rukh 20 years ago. It amuses me to think that I'm given credit for something I played no part in. Shah Rukh's parents made him, I didn't. I didn't make a superstar; I simply chose the right man for a job I had,” he wrote.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)