Exactly
a
month
before
he
passed
away
on
June
2,
1988,
Raj
Kapoor
was
presented
the
Dadasaheb
Phalke
Award
—
the
nation’s
highest
honour
for
cinematic
achievement
—
by
then
President
Ramaswamy
Venkataraman.
Raj
Kapoor
was
only
63
years
old,
and
in
failing
health.
He
developed
breathing
problems
at
the
event
and
could
not
walk
up
to
the
stage
to
receive
his
award.
President
Venkataraman
had
to
come
to
Raj
Kapoor’s
seat
and
give
it
to
him.
After
the
awards
ceremony,
Raj
Kapoor
was
rushed
to
the
All
India
Institute
of
Medical
Sciences
in
New
Delhi
and
passed
into
the
ages
there.
Reliving
the
legend’s
final
moments
through
Rediff.com‘s
archival
images.
Despite
poor
health,
Raj
Kapoor
decided
to
fly
to
New
Delhi
to
receive
the
award.
He
arrived
in
the
capital
on
April
30,
two
days
before
the
event.
His
younger
daughter
Rima
Jain
once
told
Filmfare,
‘There
was
a
dust
storm
in
Delhi
(on
the
day
he
arrived).
As
soon
as
the
door
of
the
plane
opened,
he
was
greeted
with
a
violent
gust
of
wind.
Being
an
asthma
patient,
it
affected
his
lungs.
He
attended
the
function
with
an
oxygen
cylinder.
Through
the
function,
he
was
restless.
‘He
kept
pressing
my
mother’s
hand
hard
to
show
his
discomfort.’
When
his
name
was
announced,
Raj
Kapoor
could
not
get
up
from
his
seat.
He
needed
oxygen
support,
as
his
breathing
worsened.
Since
Raj
Kapoor
could
not
walk
up
to
the
stage
to
receive
the
award,
the
President
came
to
his
seat
to
present
it.
After
the
ceremony,
Raj
Kapoor
was
taken
AIIMS
in
an
ambulance.
He
was
put
on
a
ventilator,
and
several
film
and
political
persons
came
to
visit
him
one
last
time.
Raj
Kapoor’s
health
started
failing
after
the
release
of
his
1985
film,
Ram
Teri
Ganga
Maili.
He
reportedly
suffered
from
bronchial-asthma
and
had
difficulty
sleeping.
In
his
final
days,
Rima
told
The
Times
Of
India
that
her
father
mostly
communicated
through
his
eyes.
Raj
Kapoor’s
eldest
son
Randhir
Kapoor
places
flowers
on
his
father’s
portrait
after
he
passed
away.
Photographs:
Rediff
Archives.
Curated
by
Anant
Salvi/Rediff.com
