Nirmal Aunty. 27 September 1934 – 2 May 2025. Mother to Boney, Anil, Sanjay Kapoor and Reena Marwah.
Grandmother to Kapoor actors Arjun, Sonam, Harshvardhan, Jahnvi, Khushi and Shanaya, besides Mohit Marwah. Also to Anshula, Rhea, Jahaan Kapoor and Akshay Marwah. Greatgrandmother to four, including Sonam’s son Vayu.
What a family picture. Everything about Nirmal Aunty could be measured in generations and decades. She and producer-husband Surinder Kapoor were happily married for over five decades.
She and her kitty party partner, Krishna Raj Kapoor, were confidantes and the closest of friends for over five decades; their respective families have known each other for over six. But, contrary to common perception, the RK (Raj Kapoor) and SK (Surinder Kapoor) families are not close blood relatives. They share a surname, Peshawar is their place of origin, Chembur is the suburb they all once lived in, the film industry has been a common pool for employment. But when Randhir Kapoor was once asked how the RKs and SKs were related, he’d remarked, “By satellite.”
It’s like the misinformation that Yash Chopra and Yash Johar were related. They were both Punjabis, made movies, were close friends and their sons Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar were like brothers from different mothers. But Yash Chopra and Yash Johar were not blood relatives.
To return to Nirmal Aunty, when Raj Kapoor passed away in 1988, it was the SKs, led by Boney, that were extended family. From keeping vigil when RK was taking his last few breaths in a Delhi hospital to taking care of the hundreds of people who dropped in at RK’s Deonar bungalow in Mumbai, and Nirmal Aunty by Krishnaji’s side, it was one big family.
Similarly, when SK passed away after an evening walk in 2011, Krishnaji was quick to reach her bestie.
The blessing was that their friendship could span decades because SK and Krishnaji lived to be octogenarians and Nirmal Aunty outlived everybody, crossing 90 last year. She also had the good fortune of watching the SKs catching up with and equalling the one-time more celebrated RK branch in fame, fortune and the occasional extra-marital scandal. If RK had a Rishi Kapoor going strong in his second innings, SK had Anil earning the tag of “evergreen”. If a gathering of RKs is like a party of celebrities, the SKs have their own glittering line-up.
Nirmal Aunty also had a mind of her own which she would occasionally give voice to. Her sons are unaware that she has even ticked me off about something I wrote, adding, “Don’t tell anybody I spoke to you about it.” I didn’t and now it doesn’t matter.
The prayer meeting for her (held in the same JW Marriott venue as Manoj Kumar’s last month) showed just how much the SK tree has grown in stature. A beautiful candle designed by Sandeep Khosla and Abu Jani, in a box with her picture, her birthday and her day of passing, was handed to every person who came to bid goodbye to her.
With her passing, a chapter I knew closely, has been closed forever. Om Shanti, Nirmal Aunty.
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Was Dinesh Vijan privy to inside info? In the nick of time, he cancelled the press screening of Bhool Chuk Maaf, decided not to release it in theatres due to “heightened security drills across the country” and to start streaming directly on Amazon from next week. “The spirit of the nation comes first,” said the message. Patriotism or professional expedience? Either way, the one who benefits is Raid 2 which gets another solo run over an additional weekend. One man’s decision can sometimes boost another man’s fortunes. Meanwhile, Wamiqa Gabi’s status of OTT actor continues as her big Hindi film break didn’t make it to the theatres.
Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and an author