Shammi Kapoor’s son Aditya Raj to make a movie on biking

Aditya Raj Kapoor, late Shammi Kapoor’s son, was in Bengaluru for a talk at the Roadtrippers Club, where he spoke about his love for biking. We caught up with him on the sidelines of the event. Aditya, unlike the members of the Kapoor family has not embraced cinema as much, but chose to find life on his own path, quite literally. Now, this love for riding has led him to consider making a film soon. “I’ve captured moments from my rides across the globe, which I plan to combine together as a film and release it soon. I am also considering penning these experiences into a book,” reveals Aditya. As a biker, he has travelled across the globe and has been capturing his adventures, encounters with the locals amidst his halts and experiences that took place during his rides.
Aditya is known among his peers as Lord Fusebox. “As a beginner, fuse was the only part in the motorbike that I knew to fix and that remained my call-sign,” he adds. Speaking of his journey, he shared that he never expected to be a biker. “It was my son who initiated the idea and motivated me to hit the road. Before I knew it, at 57, I was on the road exploring the world. My family initially didn’t take this hobby of mine seriously and thought I was crazy and even advised me to instead go choose a car, probably hinting at my age,” he recalls.
As a Kapoor, he did have vivid experiences of film lovers adoring and helping him out. “I have met many Indian film lovers, where I particularly recall one of them who sang Mera Joota Hai Japani. Since, I was on a solo ride across the world, I didn’t plan my stay everywhere. There were difficult times, but there also were people who helped me out. I was carrying nearly 60kgs of luggage, but eventually ended up handing them out as souvenirs to people who helped me in the journey, be it by offering a couch to sleep on or a meal to eat. The world is a loving place and no one wants a war,” he says.
Aditya enjoyed his journey to Russia, Indo- China borders and many other destinations. He met people who took him around for some local experiences. His journey demanded him to learn basics of communication in the places he visited, and so, he has learnt more than seven languages including Cyrillic and Latin.
Mentioning about his family support, he particularly remembers the emotional welcome he received when he returned from his trip. “When I came back, they hugged me and had tears in their eyes, they told me they wish they could do it too. They were happy about it. The entire Prithviraj Kapoor family is closely knit and I was told I have gone around the world for the entire Kapoor family, which is nice,” says Aditya, who also recalls how he had tears in his eyes seeing the love that he had garnered.

- Manisha Bajaj