The other unparalleled genius of Hindustani cinema is Raj Kapoor, Showman of Bollywood. He was the most illustrious offspring of a film family. Raj was the son of Prithviraj Kapoor, a mythical figure of the `Golden Age` of Hindi Cinema. A native of Peshawar, Prithviraj Kapoor landed his first project in the Imperial Company`s production, Cinema Girl by Ardeshir Irani. Prithviraj Theatres was later set up by him. The excellence of Prithviraj Kapoor was successfully carried forward by Raj Kapoor and this time through films.

In 1948 Raj Kapoor founded the RK Films, his production company and studio. This banner produced 70 films, only 10 of which were directed by him. He was an unforgettable, Alexander the Great, in Sohrab Modi`s Sikandar, even as he continued to perform Shakespeare in English on stage. He is often referred to as the greatest showman of the silver screen as his films dealt with a variety of themes and subjects. Till date Raj Kapoor remains the complete entertainer in India cinema. It was his films, such as, Shree 420 that brought back the image of the tramp. He was the Indian version of Charlie Chaplin, whose gestures he imitated marvelously well.

The Bombay studios were by no means out of touch with their times. Popular heroes in romantic tales were modeled on social outcasts. The post war audience was made of uprooted people. Raj Kapoor was at the very crest of optimism that ran through Indian cinema at that time, bearing the hopes for change in the liberated India. Some of his films from the Golden Era are known as classics. His best films have himself and Nargis in the lead roles.

Raj Kapoor was progressive but he never set out to alter the set formulas of Hindi cinema. Indian loved him for the amalgamation of generosity and mild derision that through pathos, melodrama and marvelous music and songs enabled a social message to be communicated to the audience.