Jeetendra is an Indian actor, producer and non-executive chairman of Balaji Telefilms. He is known for his trademark vigorous dance style, which has earned him the nickname ‘Jumping Jack’. He is also known for his white attire, pairing white clothes with white shoes. As of 2023, he has worked in over 200 films, including hits like ‘Farz’ (1967), ‘Jeene Ki Raah’ (1969), ‘Dharam Veer’ (1977), ‘Judaai’ (1980), ‘Jaani’ Movies included. ‘Dost’ (1983), ‘Himmatwala’ (1983), and ‘Tohfa’ (1984).
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Jeetendra was born as Ravi Kapoor on Tuesday, 7 April 1942 (age 81 years; as of 2023) in Amritsar, Punjab, British India (now India). His zodiac sign is Aries. He completed his schooling from St. Sebastian Goa High School, Mumbai. He is an alumnus of Siddharth College of Law, Mumbai. He also studied at Kishinchand Chellaram College in Mumbai along with his friend and fellow actor Rajesh Khanna.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Weight (Approx): 75 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: dark brown
family and caste
Jeetendra was born in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family.
parents and siblings
Jeetendra’s father, Amarnath Kapoor, and mother, Krishna Kapoor, were both in the jewelery imitation business, which they supplied to the film industry.
Jeetendra (left) with Krishna Kapoor and Prasanna Kapoor (right)
His brother Prasanna Kapoor is a producer and has made films like ‘Aag Aur Shola’ (1986), ‘Tamacha’ (1988) and ‘Kasam Khoon Ki’ (1977). He also has a sister Madhubala Kapoor.
wife and children
Jeetendra married Shobha Kapoor on 31 October 1974. She worked as an air hostess for British Airways but left the job in 1973 because she planned to get married.
Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor’s wedding photo
In 1994, he started Balaji Telefilms, India’s largest content production house, with his daughter Ekta Kapoor. Shobha in an interview talked about how the family started with Balaji Telefilms and said,
Jituji got an offer to do a television show and we asked one of our friends, who was running TV Asia in London, for his advice. They refused to let him act and instead asked him to produce television material for them. Within two months, we started our production house in 1994. Ekta was 19 years old then.
he adds,
Our friend soon sold TV Asia to Zee TV and no longer needed the content. But, I had created a lot of content and invested all my savings in it and I had to bear the expenses myself. After struggling for a year, we sold our shows to different channels and by 1996 we were ruling television. All this happened from the garage of my house (a basement, which was also a car park), from where I ran my office for six years.
They are the parents of a daughter and a son. His daughter, Ekta Kapoor, is a renowned film and TV director, producer, venture capitalist and businesswoman. She is also the managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms. His son Tusshar Kapoor is a famous Indian actor and producer. He is also the co-owner of Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures.
Jeetendra with his son Tusshar Kapoor, daughter Ekta Kapoor and wife Shobha Kapoor
other relatives
Jeetendra had a cousin, Nitin Kapoor, a Bollywood film producer, who was married to South Indian actress Jayasudha. He died by suicide in 2017 due to suffering from depression.
Nitin Kapoor with his wife Jayasudha
Jeetendra also has a brother-in-law, Ramesh Sippy, who is a leading film distributor and has worked in the film industry for over 50 years. He serves as the President of the Indian Motion Picture Distributors Association.
Through his sister Madhubala, he has a nephew, Abhishek Kapoor, who is a director, producer, writer and a former actor. He has directed films like Rock On! (2008), Kai Po Che (2013), and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021).
Abhishek Kapoor
relationships/affairs
According to sources, Jeetendra first met Shobha Kapoor when she was just 14 years old. After a long relationship of over a decade, they finally got married on 13 October 1974, in the presence of their close relatives and friends, soon after the release of their superhit film ‘Bidaai’ (1974).
Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor at a young age
Jeetendra started his relationship with Rekha at a time when he was already in a relationship with his longtime girlfriend Shobha. According to Yasir Usman’s biography ‘Rekha: The Untold Story’, the relationship between Rekha and Jeetendra ended when she overheard Jeetendra talking to a junior artiste and felt hurt by his thoughts about her. The biography further claims that in an interview Rekha said,
I hate the man who destroyed my childhood ideals of love, romance and marriage. There was a time when I too was like other girls. I just wanted a son of my own, whom I could look up to, admire and trust. And I trusted Jeetu. At that time I had no desire for marriage or anything. “I just wanted her to be fair to me, to give me as much as she can from this relationship.”
Jeetendra with Rekha
There were also rumors that Jeetendra had an affair with Sridevi, which he denied in an interview and said,
Never To tell the truth, till date I have never gone to Jeetu’s hotel room, nor has he ever come home. I know people are saying a lot of bad things, but it’s true. I am an innocent girl. I’m not stupid, but I’m also not a calculating person. And I’m definitely not a man-eater.”
Jeetendra with Sridevi
Jeetendra and Hema Malini came close after working together in ‘Waris’ (1969) and ‘Gehri Chaal’ (1973) and they soon decided to get married. According to sources, when Shobha came to know about it, she immediately took Dharmendra to the wedding venue and stopped their marriage. According to Hema Malini’s authorized biography, “Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl”, she almost tied the knot with Jeetendra, but backed off at the last minute and changed her mind. Eventually Hema Malini married Dharmendra and Jeetendra married Shobha Kapoor.
Jeetendra Kapoor with Hema Malini
Religion
Jeetendra is a religious person and follows Hindu religion.
Address
26, Greater Mumbai Society, Gulmohar Cross Road. JVPD, Mumbai, 400049
signature/autograph
Jeetendra’s signed photo
livelihood
Hindi movie
Jeetendra started his career in 1959 with the film ‘Navrang’ as an extra and body double of actress Sandhya Shantaram. In an interview he discussed his journey of becoming a body double and said,
We were shooting in Bikaner. Shri V. Shantaram was very careful about time. I arrived late for dinner and he got very angry and asked the production team to send me back. He told my makeup man not to prepare me for the next day’s shoot. The next morning, I woke up at 5 and requested my makeup man to get me ready. I went to Mr. V. Shantaram’s room crying. He saw me dressed up and was impressed. Since then I have never missed a chance to please her. I will obey him and do whatever he says. So I also became the body double for Sandhya.
His first role as a lead hero came in 1964 as Vijay in ‘Geet Gaya Patharon Ne’.
Song sung by stones in a scene from Jeetendra
In 1967, he starred in ‘Farz’ as Gopal Kishan Pandey/Agent 116. In 1969, he starred as Ravi/Ram Kumar #2 in the box office hit film ‘Waris’. In 1970, he played the role of Raju “Junglee” in ‘Mere Humsafar’. In the same year, he played the role of Mohan Singh in the Filmfare Award-winning film ‘Khilona’.
In 1972, he played the role of Ravi in ’Parichaya’. In 1974, he played the role of Sudhakar in ‘Bidaai’. He played the role of Sagar in the film ‘Gehri Chaal’ in 1973.
In 1975, he played the role of Akbar in ‘Omar Quaid’. In 1976, he starred in ‘Suntan’ as Ravi Malhotra. In 1978, he played the role of Sagar Singh in ‘Badalte Rishtey’. In 1980, he played the role of Ravi in the iconic classic, critically acclaimed film ‘The Burning Train’.
Jeetendra in a scene from The Burning Train
In 1982, he played the double role of SP Ranjit Kumar and Ramu in the superhit film ‘Farz Aur Kanoon’. In 1985, he acted in the critically acclaimed film ‘Sanjog’ and played the role of Narayan. In 1987, he played the role of Anand in the superhit film ‘Aulad’.
In 1990, he played the lead character Hatim al-Tai in the fantasy film ‘Hatim Tai’. In 1993, he played the role of Professor Sagar Bhardwaj in ‘Geetanjali’.
In 2003, he appeared in the role of Ravi in ’Kuch To Hai’. The film starred his son Tusshar in the lead role and Jeetendra played his father’s role in the film. In 2007, she did a cameo in the song Deewangi Deewangi from the film ‘Om Shanti Om’.
Jeetendra in a scene from Om Shanti Om
bhojpuri film
In 2006, he played the role of Thakur in the film ‘Gabbar Singh’. The film was a remake of ‘Sholay’ (1975) and was produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Mahesh Pandey.
Jeetendra in a scene from Gabbar Singh
Television
In 2003, Jeetendra played a special role as Jitesh Kothari in the TV series ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’. The show was co-produced by his wife Shobha and daughter Ekta Kapoor under the banner of their production house, Balaji Telefilms.
Jeetendra in a scene from Because Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
In the same year, she played a special role as herself in another show, ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’. This show was also made under the banner of Balaji Telefilms.
web series
In 2020, after a long hiatus from acting, he played the recurring role of Jeetu Bhai in ALT Balaji’s web series, ‘Baarish’. In an interview he discussed his comeback and said,
It felt great to be back on screen. I wanted to explore and experience the style of this medium. I have been a camera-friendly person since the beginning, so it was easy to get back in front of the camera. It took a while to get comfortable with the high-tech working methods but once I got the graphs, everything became effortless.”
Jeetendra in a rain scene
In 2021, he made a cameo in season 2 of the web series ‘Apharan’.
Balaji Telefilms
Balaji Telefilms Limited is a joint venture of Jeetendra’s family. The company was officially registered on 11 November 1994 by his wife, Shobha Kapoor, who serves as managing director, and daughter, Ekta Kapoor, who serves as joint managing director, with Jeetendra as co-founder. -Served as executive chairman and provided the initial investment. , Today, Balaji Telefilms operates as one of the largest entertainment content providers in various languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. Balaji Telefilms reported its revenue of Rs. Reported to happen. 593 crores for the year 2023. When asked in an interview why he entered the television industry, Jeetendra replied,
When satellite TV was gaining momentum, TV as a medium was a big opportunity.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn