He was born in Peshawar in the North-West Frontier Province of present-day Pakistan .He began his career as a clapper boy assisting Kidar Sharma at a film studio. At age eleven, he appeared in films for the first time, in the 1935 film Inquilab

The biographical details uniquely identify Raj Kapoor - born in Peshawar (now Pakistan), started as a clapper boy assisting Kidar Sharma, debuted as child artist in Inquilab (1935) at age eleven. He later became the legendary showman of Hindi cinema. Prithiviraj Kapoor was his father, Shammi and Shashi were his brothers.