Ranbir Kapoor will be playing the role of Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming movie Ramayana. Reportedly, he is also taking training to improve his diction and overall mannerisms so that he can justify the character of Ram. While it is the first time that Ranbir Kapoor is playing a role directly taken from Indian mythology or that of a Hindu deity, over the years many Kapoor's have played different characters that have been an integral part of Ramayana.
Prithviraj Kapoor and Trilok Kapoor
Prithviraj Kapoor who started as a theater artist later on played some memorable roles in Hindi cinema. To date, he is remembered for his unforgettable portrayal of Emperor Akbar in Mughal-E-Azam. Prithviraj Kapoor also played important roles in mythological movies. He played the role of Ram in a Bengali movie titled Seeta released in 1933. It was directed by Debaki Bose and was offered an honorary diploma at the second Venice International Festival, in 1934.
Incidentally, Seeta was the first Indian talkie that was screened at any international film festival. In the same movie, Prithviraj Kapoor’s younger brother Trilok Kapoor played the role of his son Luv while the famous actress of those times, Durga Khote portrayed Seeta.
Very few people know that Trilok Kapoor, who was the paternal uncle of Raj Kapoor played many roles in mythological movies and was one of the leading actors chosen for such roles. Together with Nirupa Roy, he acted in 18 such movies mostly with Trilok Kapoor playing Shiva whereas Nirupaji played Parvati.
Seeta was his second movie. After that, he played Lord Ram in many movies like Shri Ram Bhakta Hanuman, and Ram Janma.
Raj Kapoor as Narada
Prithviraj Kapoor played the titular role in the movie Valmiki released in 1946. At that time his son Raj Kapoor was just 21 years old and had ventured into Bollywood. The famous producer, director, and actor played the role of Rishi Narada advising the robber Ratnakar (Valmiki) to give up being a robber and murderer.
There is one particular scene where Valmiki bows down and touches the feet of Narada. Raj Kapoor found it extremely difficult to carry out this scene as it was his father Prithviraj Kapoor who had to touch his feet as Raj was playing Rishi Narada. However after his father soothed him, the showman of Indian cinema decided to go ahead with the shot.