Born on November 16, 1985, to a Punjabi father, Kumud Roy Kapur, and an Indian Jewish mother, Salome Aaron, the actor is known for his chocolate boy image. Aditya Roy Kapur is the youngest of three siblings - his eldest brother, Siddharth Roy Kapur a producer who's married to actress Vidya Balan, his second brother, Kunaal Roy Kapur, who is also an actor. (All pictures/Aditya Roy Kapur's Instagram account, mid-day archives and Yogen Shah)
It's not just Aditya and his brothers who have entered the film fraternity, Aditya Roy Kapur's grandfather, Raghupat Roy Kapur was also a film producer.
Aditya Roy Kapur's maternal grandparents, Sam and Ruby Aaron, were qualified dance teachers who introduced the Sama dance to India.
Born and brought up in South Mumbai, Aditya Roy Kapur completed his schooling from G. D. Somani Memorial School, in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai, where all his siblings studied and where his mother also directed school plays. Subsequently, he graduated from St Xavier's College.
Aditya Roy Kapur is not a trained actor, though he has taken dance lessons and also diction classes to improve his Hindi accent. According to him he 'had no burning ambition to become an actor,' and was content with being a VJ, until he was called to audition for London Dreams. During his school years, he wanted to be a cricketer but he quit cricket coaching classes after the sixth standard.
In an old interview with mid-day about his Bollywood debut, Aditya Roy Kapur spoke about bagging his first-ever role in tinsel town. 'I was a VJ. That was fun and easy because I just had to be myself. Then I got lucky and bagged a small role in London Dreams. After that, I was in the right place at the right time and got to audition for Action Replayy. Vipul Shah thought that I was perfect to play the role of Akshay and Aishwarya's son. Around the same time, Sanjay Leela Bhansali also called me for Guzaarish and he quite liked me.'
After his Bollywood debut with a minor role in Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan's London Dreams (2009), he did a series of movies as a supporting actor - Action Replayy (2010) and Guzaarish (2010) - and also, in the coming-of-age romance, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013).
Sharing his experience working with two superstars of Bollywood - Hrithik Roshan and Akshay Kumar - Aditya Roy Kapur said: 'Akshay is so disciplined and hard-working that it's unbelievable. He doesn't smoke, drink, or party. He wakes up at 5 am and is very dedicated to his workout regimen. Just being around him makes you pumped up to give your best. Duggu is extremely helpful. He's genuinely interested in making sure you do a good job with the scene. He puts in the effort to make you comfortable.'
As Aditya Roy Kapur has shared screen space twice with Aishwarya Rai, in Guzaarish and Action Replayy, the actor said: 'Yes. I was on the set with Rajpal Yadav waiting for my scene. I hadn't met Ash before. She walked in with full make-up and ready with her lines. We did a great take and that naturally broke the ice between us. I keep joking with my friends saying I can retire now that I have done two films with Aishwarya Rai!'
But he rose to prominence as an actor in 2013 by playing the male lead in the highly successful romantic drama, Aashiqui 2. 'There is a certain kind of expectation from me, so in that sense there is pressure. But I don't think about all this. I don't think about how much business my films will make. Aashiqui 2 and Yeh Jawaani were hit films, especially the former film in which I was the protagonist. So somewhere there is something for me to lose. There is some kind of pressure and that I have something to lose now (stardom). I am getting more recognition from people. Things have definitely changed after the success of these two films. I don't know if all this means that I am a star,' Aditya said in an interview with PTI.
Aditya Roy Kapur then appeared in the romantic comedy Daawat-e-Ishq with Parineeti Chopra, Fitoor with Katrina Kaif and OK Jaanu featuring Shraddha Kapoor which did lukewarm business at the box office.
Aditya was last seen in Abhishek Varman's period drama, Kalank, alongside an ensemble cast of Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sanjay Dutt. The film, however, bombed at the box office.
He was then seen in Malang, co-starring Disha Patani, Anil Kapoor and Kunal Kemmu, which also managed to do lukewarm business at the BO.
Aditya Roy Kapur's last film was Sadak 2, that released on Disney+ Hotstar. It was a sequel to the 1991 hit film Sadak, and also starred Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Pooja Bhatt and Makarand Deshpande in key roles. The film did not receive much love from the audience.
Here's wishing a belated happy birthday to Aditya Roy Kapur!
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