Jeetendra Wiki, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Jeetendra is an Indian actor, producer and the non-executive chairman of Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures. He is known for his trademarked dancing style, which has earned him the nickname, ‘Jumping Jack’. As of 2023, he has appeared in more than 200 films, predominantly in the Hindi film industry. He has starred in box-office hits such as ‘Farz’ (1967), ‘Jeene Ki Raah’ (1969), ‘Dharam Veer’ (1977), ‘Judaai’ (1980), ‘Himmatwala’ (1983), and ‘Tohfa’ (1984).

Wiki/Biography

Jeetendra was born as Ravi Kapoor on Tuesday, 7 April 1942 (age 81 years; as of 2023) in Amritsar, Punjab, British India (now India). His zodiac sign is Aries. He completed his schooling at St. Sebastian’s Goan High School, Mumbai. He is an alumnus of Siddharth College of Law, Mumbai. He also studied with his friend and fellow actor, Rajesh Khanna, at Kishinchand Chellaram College, Mumbai.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Weight (approx.): 75kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Dark Brown

Family & Caste

Jeetendra was born in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family.

Parents & Siblings

Jeetendra’s father, Amarnath Kapoor and mother Krishna Kapoor were both in the jewellery imitation business, which they supplied to the filmmakers.

His brother, Prasan Kapoor, is a producer and has produced films such as ‘Aag Aur Shola’ (1986), ‘Tamacha’ (1988) and ‘Kasam Khoon Ki’ (1977).

Wife & Children

Jeetendra married Shobha Kapoor on 31 October 1974. She used to work as an air hostess at British Airways but quit her job in 1973 to marry Jeetendra.

In 1994, she started Balaji Telefilms, India’s largest content production house, along with her daughter, Ekta Kapoor. Shobha talked about how she got started with Balaji Telefilms in an interview and said,

Jeetuji got an offer to do a television show and we asked a friend of ours, who was running TV Asia in London, for his advice. He dissuaded him from acting and instead asked him to produce television content for him. Within two months, we started our production house in 1994. Ekta was 19 then.”

She further added,

Our friend soon sold TV Asia to Zee TV and did not need the content anymore. But, I had produced a lot of content and put all my savings into it and had to fend for myself. After struggling for a year, we sold our shows to different channels and, by 1996, we were ruling television. All this happened from the garage of my house (a basement, which was also a car park) from where I ran my office for six years.”

They are parents to a daughter and a son. Their daughter, Ekta Kapoor, is a well-renowned film and T.V. director, producer, venture capitalist, and businesswoman. She is also the managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms. Their son, Tusshar Kapoor, is a famous Indian actor and producer. He is also a co-owner of Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures.

Other Relatives

Jeetendra had a cousin, Nitin Kapoor, a Bollywood film producer who married South Indian actress and politician, Jayasudha. He passed away by committing suicide in 2017 as he was suffering from depression.

Jeetendra also has a brother-in-law, Ramesh Sippy, who is a leading film distributor and has worked in the film industry for over 50 years. He serves as the President of the Indian Motion Picture Distributors’ Association.

Jeetendra has a nephew, Abhishek Kapoor, who is a director, producer, writer and a former actor. He has directed films such as Rock On!! (2008), Kai Po Che! (2013), and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021).

Relationships/Affairs

According to the sources, Jeetendra met Shobha Kapoor for the first time when she was only 14 years old. After a long relationship of more than a decade, they finally got married on 31 October 1974, just after the release of his superhit film ‘Bidaai’ (1974), in the presence of their close relatives and friends.

Jeetendra began his relationship with Rekha at a time when he was already in a relationship with his long-time girlfriend, Shobha. According to the biography, ‘Rekha: The Untold Story’ by Yasser Usman, the relationship between Rekha and Jeetendra ended when she overheard Jeetendra talking to a junior artist and felt hurt by his views about her. The biography further claims that in an interview, Rekha said,

I hate the man who destroyed my childhood ideals of love, romance and marriage. There was a time when I was like other girls too. I only wanted one guy of my own to look up to, to adore, to trust. And I trusted Jeetu. I didn’t hanker after marriage or anything at that time. I only wanted him to be fair to me, to give as much as he got out of this relationship.”

Jeetendra with Rekha

Jeetendra was also rumoured to have an affair with Sridevi, which she denied in an interview and said,

Never! Honestly, till this day, I have never been to Jeetu’s hotel room, nor has he ever come home. I know people have been saying a lot of bad things, but this is the truth. I am an innocent girl. I’m not a fool, but I am not a calculative person either. And I am certainly not a man-eater.”

Jeetendra with Sridevi

After working together in ‘Waris’ (1969) and ‘Gehri Chaal’ (1973), Jeetendra and Hema Malini got close and decided to get married quickly. According to the sources, when Shobha heard about it, she immediately took Dharmendra to the wedding location and stopped their marriage. According to the authorised biography of Hema Malini, “Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl”, she almost tied the knot with Jeetendra but stopped and changed her mind at the last moment. Eventually, Hema Malini married Dharmendra, and Jeetendra married Shobha Kapoor.

Address

26, Greater Mumbai Society, Gulmohar Cross Rd. JVPD, Mumbai, 400049

Signature/Autograph

Career

Hindi Film

Jeetendra started his career in 1959 with the film, ‘Navrang,’ as an extra and a body double of the actress, Sandhya Shantaram. In an interview, he discussed his journey of becoming the body double and said,

We were shooting in Bikaner. Mr. V Shantaram was very particular about timing. I arrived late for dinner and he got very angry and told the production team to send me back. They told my make-up man not to get me ready for the next day’s shoot. The next morning, I got up at 5 am and requested my make-up man to get me ready. I went to Mr V Shantaram’s room in tears. He saw me all dressed up and was impressed. Since then, I left no chance to please him. I would do his chamchagiri (sycophancy) and did whatever he asked. So I even became a body double for Sandhya.”

Poster of the film, Navrang

His first role as the leading hero came in 1964 in ‘Geet Gaya Patharon Ne’ as Vijay.

In 1967, he starred in ‘Farz,’ as Gopal Kishan Pandey/Agent 116. In 1969, he starred in the box office hit film, ‘Waris,’ as Ravi/Ram Kumar #2. In 1970, he starred in ‘Mere Humsafar’ as Raju “Junglee”. In the same year, he starred in the Filmfare award-winning film, ‘Khilona’ as Mohan Singh.

In 1972, he starred in ‘Parichay’ as Ravi. In 1974, he starred in ‘Bidaai,’ playing the role of Sudhakar. He starred in the film, ‘Gehri Chaal’ as Sagar in 1973.

In 1975, he starred in ‘Umar Qaid’ as Akbar. In 1976, he starred in ‘Suntan’ as Ravi Malhotra. In 1978, he starred in ‘Badaltey Rishtey’ as Sagar Singh. In 1980, he starred in the cult classic, critically acclaimed film, ‘The Burning Train,’ playing the role of Ravi.

In 1982, he starred in the super hit film, ‘Farz Aur Kanoon’ playing the double role of S.P. Ranjit Kumar and Ramu. In 1985, he starred in the critically acclaimed film, ‘Sanjog,’ as Narain. In 1987, he starred in the super hit film, ‘Aulad’ as Anand.

In 1990, he starred in the fantasy film, ‘Hatim Tai’ as the titular character, Hatim al-Tai. In 1993, he starred in ‘Geetanjali’ as Professor Sagar Bhardwaj.

In 2003, he appeared in ‘Kucch To Hai’ as Ravi. The film starred his son, Tusshar, in the lead and Jeetendra played the role of his father in the film. In 2007, he had a cameo in the song, Deewangi Deewangi, of the film, ‘Om Shanti Om.’

Bhojpuri Film

In 2008, he played the role of Thakur in the film ‘Gabbar Singh.’ The film was a remake of ‘Sholay’ (1975) and was produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, and Mahesh Pandey.

Television

In 2003, Jeetendra had a special appearance on the TV series, ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ as Jithesh Kothari. The show was co-produced by his wife, Shobha, and daughter, Ekta Kapoor, under the banners of their production house, Balaji Telefilms.

In the same year, he had a special appearance in another show, ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii’ as himself. The show was also created under the banner of Balaji Telefilms.

Web Series

In 2020, after a long break from acting, he had a recurring role in the ALT Balaji’s web series, ‘Baarish’ as Jeetu Bhai. In an interview, he discussed about his comeback and said,

It felt great to get back on screen. I wanted to discover and experience the style of this medium. Right from the start, I’ve been a camera-friendly person, so coming back in front of the camera was easy. It did take a while to get comfortable with the high-tech working methods but once I got the graph, it was smooth sailing.”

Jeetendra in a still from Baarish

In 2021, he had a cameo in season 2 of the web series, ‘Apharan’.

Balaji Telefilms

Balaji Telefilms Limited is a joint venture of Jeetendra’s family. The company was officially registered on 11 November 1994 by his wife, Shobha Kapoor, who serves as the Managing Director, and daughter, Ekta Kapoor, who serves as the Joint Managing Director with Jeetendra working as the non-executive chairman and providing the initial investment. Today, Balaji Telefilms has become one of the biggest entertainment content providers in different languages including Hindi, Telegu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada. Balaji Telefilms reported its revenue to be Rs. 593 crores for the year 2023. On being asked why he entered the Television industry, in an interview, Jeetendra replied,

TV as a medium was a huge opportunity to explore when satellite TV was gaining momentum.”