Bollywood superstar was broke after his film flopped, slept on floors at a friend’s house, travelled on buses

Long before he earned the reputation of Bollywood’s ultimate showman, Raj Kapoor went through a deeply turbulent phase marked by financial hardship and personal anxiety. The filmmaker, whose creative ambition often defied commercial caution, found himself struggling after his passion project Mera Naam Joker failed to connect with audiences and collapsed at the box office. The setback left him drained both emotionally and financially, a stark contrast to the legendary stature he would later reclaim.

In a recent conversation with ANI, author and entrepreneur Bina Ramani, who shared a close association with the Kapoor household, revisited that painful chapter of Raj Kapoor’s life. She recalled a time when Kapoor was grappling with severe money troubles while simultaneously dealing with the distress of his father, Prithviraj Kapoor, undergoing cancer treatment in the United States.



Ramani revealed that during this period, Raj Kapoor lived with remarkable simplicity in San Francisco, often choosing public transport over taxis and resting on the floor of her home. At the time, her husband, Andy Ramani, was employed with Air India in New York, and the family was raising two young children.

With Kapoor’s finances completely exhausted, he mirrored Andy’s daily routine by commuting on buses, refusing any form of unnecessary expense. According to Ramani, Kapoor was acutely aware of his father’s fragile condition and felt every rupee spent needed to be justified.

She further shared that Kapoor’s financial situation worsened due to unpaid dues linked to his earlier film Sangam. A portion of money owed to him by business associates was never fully cleared, which left him particularly vulnerable for several weeks when he needed support the most.


Despite the cramped living arrangements, Ramani occasionally cooked meals for Kapoor, and he found comfort in spending time with her children. With limited space and no formal dining area, Kapoor slept on a mattress placed on the floor, embracing the humility of the situation with quiet grace and affection for the little ones around him.

Fate, however, turned in his favour three years later. In 1973, Raj Kapoor staged a remarkable comeback with Bobby, a romantic drama that became one of the year’s biggest successes. The film not only restored his standing in the industry but also launched Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia as leading stars, marking a powerful revival after one of the darkest chapters of his life.