Raj Kapoor slept on floor, travelled by bus during father’s cancer battle, reveals Bina Ramani: ‘Was abusing Jesus…’

Bina Ramani recalls Raj Kapoor's struggle phase. Shares how he used to sleep on the floor and travel by bus during his father's cancer battle.

In the glitzy and glamorous world of showbiz, it’s usually the picture-perfect lives of the celebrities that come to the forefront. However, the struggles and challenges they face don’t make it to the forefront. One such similar case was that of legendary filmmaker and actor Raj Kapoor. Although today he is remembered as the towering figure in India, behind his massive success were also financial hardships and emotional distress that did not make it to the spotlight. Socialite and author Bina Ramani, who was closely associated with the Kapoor family, recently opened up about those difficult years, shedding light on a lesser-known chapter of Raj Kapoor’s life.

Bina on Raj Kapoor’s Financial Distress

In a candid interview, Bina recalled the time when Raj Kapoor was struggling both professionally and personally. After his most ambitious project, Mera Naam Joker, failed at the box office, the filmmaker faced severe financial issues. Matters worsened as his father, Prithviraj Kapoor, was undergoing cancer treatment in the United States.

During this period, Bina revealed that Raj Kapoor often stayed at her home in San Francisco. She said, “Raj Kapoor was broke. Mera Naam Joker had flopped badly, and his father was sick with cancer in the hospital.”

She added that when Raj wasn’t financially stable, he avoided unnecessary expenses and tried saving money “He denied taking a cab and said, ‘I don’t know how long father will be here; it would be expensive.’”

Bina shared that Raj Kapoor used to sleep on a mattress and often travelled by bus instead of cabs. “He used to take buses and sleep on the floor at my house in San Francisco,” she recalled, adding that even her then-husband Andy Ramani, who worked with Air India in New York, travelled by bus to work.

She also revealed that Raj Kapoor had run out of money at the time and was owed payments by the Hindujas. “Some money that the Hindujas had from Sangam, they owed him; they didn’t pay him completely. That let him down very badly at this particular time, for a good six weeks or so.”

A deeply emotional moment

Recalling a very emotional incident, Bina shared that Raj Kapoor was often under stress due to his father’s deteriorating health. She also once saw him venting out his frustration.

She shared, “At night, he was yelling, and I came out to see what happened. He was in distress most of the time after getting bad news from the hospital. He was fed up; his father wasn’t getting better, that too added up.”

She further recalled a particularly raw moment, saying, “So, he had Jesus’ picture in his hand and was completely abusing him, in Hindi and English. I asked him, he said that ‘I have loved him, have given my full love to him, he has returned his love to me, how dare he let me down?’ He had the thinking that if you don’t talk to your God, no one will listen to you.”

Faith beyond religion

Bina also shared that Raj Kapoor was spiritually very liberal. Even though he was a Hindu, he believed in all religions. “He was a Hindu, but he believed in Islam as well. He had Sai Baba’s picture, a little Ganesh ji, and a photograph of Jesus in a frame,” she said.

But after those years of struggles and challenges, his life finally saw a turnaround as Raj Kapoor’s fortunes eventually turned with the massive success of Bobby in 1973. The film revived his career and restored his financial stability.