Shakti Kapoor (born Sunil Kapoor on 3 September 1952) is an Indian actor and comedian born in Delhi, into a Punjabi Hindu family. His father ran a clothes shop at Connaught Place, New Delhi. He studied at Kirori Mal College, Delhi, and later trained at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He is married to Shivangi Kapoor (née Kolhapure, married 1982), sister of actresses Padmini Kolhapure and Tejaswini Kolhapure, and niece of Lata Mangeshkar. Their children are actor Siddhanth Kapoor (born 1983) and Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor (born 1987). His acting career began with small roles in 1975 before he was spotted by Sunil Dutt during the making of Rocky (1981), who cast him as the antagonist alongside Sanjay Dutt. Over the following decades, he became one of Hindi cinema's most versatile and prolific performers, appearing in over 700 films. He is celebrated for his iconic villain-comedian characters: Shakaal (Shaan, 1980), the memorable Crime Master Gogo (Andaz Apna Apna, 1994), which is widely regarded as one of Bollywood's greatest comedy performances, and Lion (Maine Pyar Kiya, 1989). In the 1980s and 1990s, he formed one of Bollywood's most beloved comic villain trios with Asrani and Kader Khan, appearing together in over 100 films. His other notable films include Himmatwala (1983), Hero (1983), Tezaab (1988), Khalnayak (1993), Raja Babu (1994), Judwaa (1997), Deewangee (2002), and Golmaal (2006). In 2005, he was at the centre of a major sting operation controversy involving a television reporter. In October 2011, he entered Bigg Boss 5 on Colors TV — his stated motivation being to prove to his children (particularly Shraddha) that he could stay away from alcohol. He was eliminated in Week 4 (Day 27), finishing fourteenth.

Being one of Bollywood's most iconic character actors with over 700 film credits, spanning comedy, villainy, and character roles from 1975 to the present; his beloved comic duo with Asrani and Kader Khan in over 100 films during the 1980s and 1990s; his most famous roles as the villain Shakaal in Shaan (1980), Crime Master Gogo in Andaz Apna Apna (1994), and Lion in Maine Pyar Kiya (1989); being the father of Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor and actor Siddhanth Kapoor; finishing fourteenth in Bigg Boss 5 (Colors TV, 2011–12).

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