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Only a few exceptional artistes are honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for their cinematic brilliance as this is the biggest film honour one can receive in India. Recently, Mithun Chakraborty was conferred with the prestigious award by President Droupadi Murmu. But in 1988, filmmaker-actor Raj Kapoor was bestowed with the same honour.But, unfortunately, the legendary actor and director had a severe asthma attack on the same day and was in no condition to walk up on the stage to collect the award. In a remarkable gesture, President Ramaswamy Venkataraman broke protocol and walked over to the actor to personally present him with the honour.
In an earlier interaction with Filmfare, Raj Kapoor’s daughter Rima Jain recalled how her father suffered an asthma attack just before attending the National Award ceremony held in Delhi. She recounted, “Somewhere, I believe, Papa ordained his death. He was to be conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award on May 2, 1988, in Delhi. He left from Mumbai on April 30. There was a dust storm in Delhi. As soon as the door of the plane opened, he was greeted with a violent gust of wind. Being an asthma patient, it affected his lungs.” Despite the difficulty in breathing, Rima noted that Raj Kapoor didn’t miss the award ceremony and arrived at the venue with an oxygen cylinder. However, she also admitted that he was “restless” throughout the function.
Even though Raj Kapoor demonstrated immense strength despite his breathing troubles, when the moment came for him to stand up and walk to the podium to receive the award, he found himself unable to rise from his chair. Rima shared, “He kept pressing my mother’s hand hard to show his discomfort. Finally, when his name was announced he couldn’t get up. There was hulchul (commotion).” It was at this time that President Venkataraman sensed Raj Kapoor’s discomfort and broke protocol. “President Venkataraman saw his discomfort and came down to him to present the award. He said, ‘Put him in my ambulance and take him to the hospital.’ Papa was put on ventilator. There were news bulletins on his health. Ministers dropped in to check on him. In a way, he prepared the family that he was going,” she added.
President of India, R. Venkataraman presenting Dadasaheb Phalke Award to ailing Raj Kapoor in Delhi. (Express Archives)
Raj Kapoor’s other daughter, Ritu Nanda, also detailed the entire incident in her book Raj Kapoor: The One and Only Showman. The excerpts from the book read, “On 2 May 1988, at the thirty-fifth National Film Festival Award presentation ceremony at Siri Fort auditorium in New Delhi, Raj Kapoor got the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his outstanding contribution to cinema. The award, named after India’s first film-maker, is the most prestigious national award of the Indian film industry. Raj Kapoor was unable to walk to the stage, having suddenly suffered an asthma attack. In a tribute to the artiste, President of India, R. Venkataraman, set aside protocol and stepped down from the podium to present the prestigious award to the ailing Raj Kapoor, seated in the front row, among the audience.”
Ritu also noted in her book that this was the last time they saw Raj Kapoor standing on his feet. She added, “The curtain came down on the showman’s life amidst cheers and applause, just as he had envisaged at the end of the second part of Mera Naam Joker, a screenplay that was written but never made into a film.”
Raj Kapoor passed away on June 2, 1988, exactly a month after receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
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