Following the special Memoriam Montage segment at the Academy Awards, artists of the Indian film industry expressed their gratitude for the special mention of Bollywood icons Sridevi and Shashi Kapoor. A special thank you tweet came from veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, who thanked the Academy of Motion Pictures and Science in a tweet, along with a video that featured the name of the late Raj Kapoor. “Oscars. Thank you for remembering Shashi Kapoor and Sridevi. Thrilled to see the name Raj Kapoor as the executive producer of the show. We are on the threshold of world cinema!” Rishi wrote.
The tweet prompted questions asking why the Showman was featured in the Academy Awards. While for B-Town the name resonates strongly with the 'Charlie Chaplin of India', in Hollywood, the name is linked to a Los Angeles-based full service creative agency and production company- Raj Kapoor Productions. The company is credited for creating shows for big names like the Bachstreet Boys, Mariah Carey, and Coldplay. Canada-based Raj Kapoor has quite the few powerhouses registered to his client diary. A media report revealed that he has worked on five editions of the Grammy Awards as segment producer, creative consultant and video producer.
The 2018 Oscars were his second stint with the mega event. “The screens and music productions, those were my responsibility and work. The screens are anything to do with images and video support for the big, scenic elements and productions,” Kapoor said. At the 2017 Academy Awards, he was responsible for Justin Timberlake's opening with his Oscar-nominated 'Can't Stop The Feeling', and John Legend's 'La La Land' medley, among other performances.
When asked about sharing name with a Bollywood legend, Kapoor said, “I've watched his movies and it's nice to be associated with his name. I get asked that a lot now. Even as a little kid, but now a lot more often in being in entertainment. Yes, we have the same name, but we're not related.”
