Annu Kapoor (born Anil Kapoor; 20 February 1956) is an Indian actor, singer, director, radio disc jockey, and television presenter who has appeared in over a hundred films, as well as television series. His career has spanned over 40 years as an actor, producer, director and singer. Besides acting, he also does a Radio show, named Suhaana Safar With Annu Kapoor which airs on 92.7 big FM. He has won numerous awards in his career, including two National Film Awards, one Filmfare Awards and two Indian Television Academy Awards in varied categories.

Early life :

Annu Kapoor was born in Itwara, Bhopal, Bhopal State, on 20 February 1956, to Madanlal, a Punjabi father with roots in Peshawar and Kamal, a Bengali Brahmin mother. His father owned a travelling Parsi theatre company which performed in cities and towns, and his mother was a Urdu teacher and a trained classical singer. His grandfather Kripa Ram Kapoor was a doctor in the British Army and his great grandfather Lala Ganga Ram Kapoor, a revolutionary who was executed during the Indian freedom struggle.

Due to poor financial circumstances, he had to quit school following secondary education. With a salary of ₹ 40, his mother worked as a teacher. On his father's insistence, he joined his theatre company. Following a stint there, he joined National School of Drama in 1976, after his brother Ranjit Kapoor, who was already a student there insisted. After graduating from the National School of Drama and a brief stint with its repertory company, in 1981, he played a 70-year-old man in the play Ek Ruka Hua Faisla in Bombay (now Mumbai). Film director Shyam Benegal who saw Kapoor perform, sent him a letter of appreciation and signed him for his 1983 film, Mandi.

Personal life :

Kapoor has promoted India's positive aspects in his programmes. Kapoor's sister Seema Kapoor, was married to actor Om Puri. His elder brother, Ranjit, is a director and screenwriter and his sister, Seema, is a producer and actor. Kapoor's younger brother, Nikhil, is a writer and lyricist.

Kapoor has four children (three sons— Kavan, Maahir and Evaan—and a daughter, Aradhita) from two marriages. His wife, Anupama, is American by birth. Annu remarried his first wife, Anupama (Pami), in 2008.

He changed his name from Anil Kapoor to Annu Kapoor to avoid confusion with the hero of the film Anil Kapoor, while acting in Tezaab.