Publications
Publications
- May 2017 (Revised April 2020)
- HBS Case Collection
Raj Kapoor: The Socialist Showman
By: Geoffrey Jones and Snigdha Sur
Abstract
This case examines the career of Raj Kapoor, the legendary Bollywood filmmaker of the postwar decades. It explores how Kapoor built RK studios after 1948 by releasing a series of movies that combined romance with social messages focused on the fate of the common man in a world of social injustice. The case discusses how women were depicted in Kapoor’s films and enables a discussion of the role of cinema in propagating gender stereotypes and contributing to the challenges faced by women in rural India today. The case also explores the huge success of Kapoor’s films in the Soviet Union and elsewhere in the Communist world. During the postwar decades there were two global worlds. In the Western world, Hollywood provided a stream of cinematic entertainment. In the Communist world, Bollywood provided the same service. They each provided alternative visions of the world.
Keywords
Film Entertainment; History; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Gender; Problems and Challenges; Values and Beliefs; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; India; Soviet Union
Citation
Jones, Geoffrey, and Snigdha Sur. "Raj Kapoor: The Socialist Showman." Harvard Business School Case 317-100, May 2017. (Revised April 2020.)