Karan Kapoor is an Indian photographer and former actor and model of British descent. He is the son of Shashi Kapoor and his India-settled wife Jennifer Kendal. His paternal grandfather was Prithviraj Kapoor and his paternal uncles are Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor. His elder brother Kunal Kapoor and younger sisterSanjana Kapoor have also acted in some films, but like him, they had little success. His maternal grandparents, Geoffrey Kendal and Laura Kendal, were actors who toured India and Asia with their theatre group, Shakespearana, performing Shakespeare and Shaw. The Merchant Ivory film, Shakespeare Wallah, was loosely based on the family, which starred his father and his aunt, actress Felicity Kendal. After a gap of nearly 25 years, Karan has now come back into the public and returned to India with a series of his photography exhibitions, Time & Tide. Karan's Time & Tide photography exhibition started in his home town Mumbai in November 2016 then taking place in Bangalore, Kolkata, New Delhi, Ahmedabad & Jaipur throughout 2017. Karan has done much research in the Anglo-Indian communities and travelled through various parts of India in the 1980s to meet these communities and has taken photographs. His articles were published in the BBC, Indian Express, Hindustan Times and other newspapers in November 2016. In his recent interview, Karan said that he is quite keen to do more photography projects in India, because his children have now grown up so he could spend more time in India. Karan also said that he was always interested in photography since his childhood even though being a part of very famous Bollywood family of Kapoors. Karan's elder brother Kunal Kapoor is now a leading ad-maker of India and younger sister Sanjana Kapoor runs the Junoon foundation to promote arts, culture and drama.
Personal life
Karan Kapoor was born on 18 January 1962 to actor Shashi Kapoor and British theatre actress Jennifer Kendal. Early in his career he was a popular model made famous by the Bombay Dyeing advertisement campaign and he also acted in Sultanat, opposite Juhi Chawla as well as later in Loha with Dharmendra. Karan now runs a photography company in the UK. He was married to English model Lorna Tarling Kapoor; the couple are now separated. They have a daughter, Aliya Kapoor and son Zack Kapoor. Kapoor has two siblings. His brother Kunal Kapoor formerly acted in Bollywood movies and now runs ad company Adfilms Valas. Kunal was married to filmmaker Ramesh Sippy's daughter Sheena, who is a well known photographer. They also have two children, Shaira and Zahan. Kunal and Sheena are now divorced. His sister Sanjana Kapoor runs the Prithvi Theatre. Jennifer Kapoor was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer in 1982 and died of the disease in 1984.
Career
He made his debut in Shyam Benegal's critically acclaimed 1978 filmJunoon, which also featured his parents and both siblings. He had a minor part in his father's production 36 Chowringhee Lane. He appeared in the British television seriesThe Jewel in the Crown in 1984. He made his debut in mainstream Bollywood films with Sultanat, alongside Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla. He later acted in Loha and Afsar in 1988, but did not have many offers as an actor. He also modeled major Indian brands, including Bombay Dyeing. He has since become a photographer and lives in Chelsea, London, with his wife Lorna, his daughter Aliya, and Zach, his son.
His photograph "Old Couple" won the International Photography Awards 2009 in the People/Lifestyle category. It was one of five nominations he received that year.
