The Kapoor family, often referred to as the 'first family of Indian cinema', has made sure to give superstars to the film industry for many years. While many people credit Prithviraj Kapoor to be the first star of the family, there is another forgotten hero, once the highest-paid actor in Hindi cinema, who gave more hit films than Raj Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor but could never become a superstar. We are talking about none other than Trilok Kapoor, Prithviraj Kapoor's younger brother, the second son of Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor.
Trilok Kapoor was born in February 1912 and made his debut in the film industry in the 1930s. Trilok Kapoor not only became one of the most commercially successful actors of the era but also one of the highest-paid film stars. Over the years, Trilok Kapoor worked with Noor Jehan, Nalini Jaywant, Sushila Rani Patel, Meena Shorey, and Sulochana. But, despite being a bankable star, Trilok Kapoor could not achieve the stardom that he longed for. Actors like Ashok Kumar and Dilip Kumar captured audiences' attention soon and thus, Trilok Kapoor could not become a superstar.
Trilok Kapoor, in his career, played lead roles in over 30 hit films, more than other film stars in the Kapoor family, including Shammi Kapoor (28), Raj Kapoor (17), and Ranbir Kapoor (11).
One of the reasons why Trilok Kapoor could never become a superstar was because most of these films were small-budget and low-scale, despite being successful.
Trilok Kapoor's last film was the 1988 telefilm Akaanksha directed by his son Vijay Kapoor. The actor died in 1988 at the age of 76.
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