Maharaja Mahtab Chand of Burdwan, 1860

Kapoor or Kapur and occasionally Capoor. Kapoor is a very famous surname in south East Asian community. (Punjabi: ਕਪੂਰ‌, Hindi: कपूर‌) is the name of a gotra of North Indian descent belonging to the Dhai Ghar khatri caste^[1][2]

Lineage and marriage rules [edit]

They are part of the Dhai Ghar. Kapurs, Malhotra (also called Mehras or Mehrotras), Khanna and in some regions also Tandon, Seth and Kakkar) marry their children with each other. Traditionally A Kapoor can not marry a Kapoor and can only marry a Malhotra, Khanna or Seth. This leaves three "Ghars" to marry; they are not supposed to marry any of their mother's side relatives with their mother's paternal last name (it could be Khanna, Malhotra or Seth). However, beginning in the nineteenth century this community has relaxed these restrictions for marriage.

The Maharajas of Burdwan [edit]

The Zamindars of Burdwan in Bengal belong to the Kapoor clan and held the title of Maharajah. Maharajah Bahadur Tedj Chand Ray adopted Chinilal Kapur.^[3] His descendants continued as the Maharajas of Burdwan. The family continued as rulers of Burdwan until zamindari was abolished by the government of India in 1955/56. The area remained under direct administration of the British via the Indian Civil Service officers on the Bengal State.

They were never members of the Chamber or Council of Princes such as the Maharaja of Patiala or Kapurtala. Thus the title Maharaja was only honorific as was the case in much of India. During the three centuries that they held the estate of Burdwan, the Kapoor family extended their patronage to scholars and artists, including:

• Paramahansa Yogananda, swami and philosopher
• Sadhak Kamalakanta, Bengali poet and singer

Several famous buildings and tanks in Burdwan were built by the Maharajas of Burdwan, including the Sarbamangala temple, the Baikunthanath Siva temple, the Shyam sagar tank, the Ranisagar tank, the Bijoy Toran and the Rajbadi (palace). In 1882, the Burdwan Raj College was started in Burdwan, which was supported entirely by the estates of the Kapoor dynasty.

Rabindranath Tagore in his The Hungry Stones And Other Stories writes: "the Chhota Lord had been heard to say that in all Bengal, the only really respectable families were those of the Maharaja of Burdwan and the Babus of Nayanjore."

Kapoor family of Bollywood [edit]

Prithviraj Kapoor (1901–1972), a noted pioneer of Indian theater and of the Hindi film industry, belonged to the Kapoor clan, the first family of Bollywood. He was born at Samundri, presently a tehsil of district Faisalabad, Lyallpur, in Pakistan. He moved to Bombay, India in 1928 and ended up founding a dynasty of movie stars and film-makers. In 1944, he started the Prithvi Theatre, a travelling theatre troupe.^[4]

Prithviraj was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema posthumously in 1972. His son, Shashi Kapoor, with his wife, Jennifer Kapoor, revived Prithvi Theatre in his honour.

Some Other prominent Kapoors [edit]

Some prominent people bearing the name Kapoor include:

Military [edit]

• General Deepak Kapoor, chief of Army staff, Indian Army
• Lt General Rana Sudhir Kumar Kapur,Indian Army

Arts and films [edit]

• Anil Kapoor, Bollywood actor, film producer
• Anish Kapoor, sculptor
• Anu Kapoor, Bollywood actor
• Bharat Kapoor, director, writer, producer
• Boney Kapoor film director and producer
• Ekta Kapoor producer for television and movies (Bollywood)
• Gita Kapoor, Bollywood dancer
• Ishaan Kapoor, actor
• Kareena Kapoor, Bollywood actress
• Karisma Kapoor, Bollywood actress
• Namitha Kapoor, South Indian movie actress
• Neha Kapur, Beauty queen
• Pankaj Kapur, Bollywood actor, film-maker
• Prithviraj Kapoor, a pioneer of Indian theatre and of the Hindi film industry
• Raj Kapoor, Bollywood actor, producer and director
• Ram Kapoor, TV actor
• Ranbir Kapoor, Bollywood actor, son of Rishi Kapoor
• Ravi Kapoor, British actor
• Rishi Kapoor, Bollywood actor
• Sanjana Kapoor, Bollywood actress, theatre-person, owner of Prithvi Theatre
• Sanjay Kapoor, Bollywood actor
• Sanjeev Kapoor, gourmet chef
• Shahid Kapoor, Bollywood actor, son of Pankaj Kapur
• Shakti Kapoor, Bollywood actor
• Shammi Kapoor, Bollywood actor
• Shashi Kapoor, Bollywood actor, director and producer, founder of the Prithvi Theatre
• Shekhar Kapur, film-maker
• Sonam Kapoor, Bollywood actress
• Steven Kapur, also known as "Apache Indian", a pop singer
• Surinder Kapoor, Bollywood film producer
• Tusshar Kapoor, Bollywood actor
• Jeetendra (Ravi Kapoor), Bollywood actor, owner of Balaji Telefilms

Literature [edit]

• Narinder Singh Kapoor

Education and social work [edit]

• Raj Narain Kapoor

References [edit]

1. ^ Kumar Suresh Singh, B. R. Sharma, , A. R. Sankhyan, Volume 24 of People of India: State series, Anthropological Survey of India, 1996, ISBN 817304094X, 9788173040948, 715 pages
2. ^ Robert Vane Russell, Volume 1 of The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, , Publisher Macmillan and Company limited, 1916 [1]
3. ^ Sir Roper Lethbridge, Golden Book of India, A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated of the Indian Empire, Aakar Books, 2005, 584 pages [2]
4. ^ Raj Kapoor, Charitavali series, Author, Lata Khubchandani, Publisher Rupa, 2003, ISBN 8171678165, 9788171678167