‘”When
I
was
in
China,
a
song
by
your
father
was
being
played,”
Modi
told
Ranbir.’
Alia
Bhatt
and
Ranbir
Kapoor
with
Prime
Minister
Narendra
D
Modi.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Alia
Bhatt/Instagram
Prime
Minister
Narendra
D
Modi
gave
Taimur
Ali
Khan
and
Jeh
Ali
Khan
a
prized
possession
but
everyone
is
curious
about
the
kind
of
conversations
Modiji
had
with
the
Kapoor
khandaan.
And
it
turns
out
that
Modiji
has
quite
a
few
Raj
Kapoor
anecdotes.
The
prime
minister
with
clockwise:
Neetu
Kapoor,
Karisma
Kapoor,
Kareena
Kapoor,
Saif
Ali
Khan,
Nitasha
Nanda,
Nikhil
Nanda,
Alia
Bhatt,
Bharat
Sahni,
Riddhima
Kapoor
Sahni,
Manoj
Jain
and
Rima
Jain.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Alia
Bhatt/Instagram
Modi
recalled
an
incident
involving
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
veterans
L
K
Advani
and
Atal
Bihari
Vajpayee,
saying:
‘I
remember
the
impact
of
films
in
those
days.
It
was
during
the
Jan
Sangh
era,
and
there
was
an
election
in
Delhi.
‘After
the
party
lost,
Advaniji
and
Atalji
said,
“What
should
we
do
now?”
Then
they
decided,
“Let’s
watch
a
movie.”
They
went
to
watch
Raj
Kapoor’s
Phir
Subah
Hogi.’
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Alia
Bhatt/Instagram
Modi
recounted
another
memory
involving
the
late
Rishi
Kapoor.
‘When
I
was
in
China,
a
song
by
your
father
was
being
played,’
Modi
told
Ranbir.
‘I
told
my
colleagues
to
record
it
on
their
phones,
and
I
sent
it
to
Rishiji.
He
was
so
delighted
by
it.’
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Karisma
Kapoor/Instagram
Modi
also
spoke
about
Raj
Kapoor’s
role
in
establishing
Indian
cinema’s
global
influence
long
before
the
term
‘soft
power’
became
popular.
‘In
1947,
we
had
Neel
Kamal,
and
now
as
we
approach
2047,
it
reflects
the
immense
contribution
of
such
a
vast
nation.
Today,
there
is
much
talk
about
soft
power
in
diplomacy,
but
back
then,
Raj
Kapoor
had
already
showcased
India’s
strength
in
this
area
to
the
world,’
he
said.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Karisma
Kapoor/Instagram
A
video
shared
by
the
prime
minister’s
office
showed
the
Kapoor
family
sharing
their
experiences
after
meeting
Modi.
‘This
is
a
special
day
for
us.
We
enjoyed
the
conversation.
We
also
asked
him
many
personal
questions.
He
spoke
to
us
in
a
friendly
manner.
He
made
all
of
us
feel
very
comfortable.
We
are
grateful
to
him,’
Ranbir
said.
‘It
was
my
dream
to
sit
next
to
PM
Modi
and
talk
to
him.
His
energy
is
so
positive
and
he
is
truly
a
global
leader,’
Kareena
shared.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Alia
Bhatt/Instagram
The
Kapoors
called
on
Modi
to
invite
him
to
the
Raj
Kapoor
film
festival
on
the
legendary
showman’s
centenary.
Raj
Kapoor,
one
of
the
most
iconic
figures
in
Indian
cinema,
was
born
on
December
14,
1924
and
he
passed
away
in
May
1988
soon
after
winning
the
Dadasaheb
Phalke
award,
India’s
highest
honour
for
achievements
in
cinema.
The
festival
will
showcase
10
iconic
Raj
Kapoor
films
across
40
cities
and
135
cinemas,
with
a
ticket
price
of
Rs
100.
