Legendary actor Raj Kapoor was once offered a prestigious award, few weeks before his terminal illness, by the president himself.
In 1988, Indian President Ramaswamy Venkataraman broke an important protocol to facilitate late actor Raj Kapoor.
The actor, who flew from Mumbai to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke award, was very ill during the time and struggled with breathing and walking.
In the award ceremony, when it was Raj Kapoor's turn to receive the accolade, President noticed his inability to reach the stage and took the liberty to walk up to the actor himself.
Speaking to Filmfare about the incident, his daughter Rima Jain said, "Somewhere, I believe, Papa ordained his death. He was to be conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award on May 2, 1988, in Delhi. He left from Mumbai on April 30. There was a dust storm in Delhi. 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."
Rima continued, "He kept pressing my mother’s hand hard to show his discomfort. Finally, when his name was announced he couldn’t get up. There was hulchul (commotion). President Venkataraman saw his discomfort and came down to him to present the award. He said, 'Put him in my ambulance and take him to the hospital.' Papa was put on ventilator. There were news bulletins on his health. Ministers dropped in to check on him. In a way, he prepared the family that he was going,"
Raj Kapoor passed a away a few weeks after the ceremony, on June 2, 1988.
