'Food is our catalyst': Armaan Jain on bringing the Kapoors together for Netflix special

Food and films are the two things that bind the entire Kapoor family, a legacy that Armaan Jain hopes to capture with his upcoming Netflix film “Dining with the Kapoors”.

The one-hour special, created by Armaan, brings together members of the Kapoor family — from stars like Ranbir Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan to the elders Randhir Kapoor, Rima Jain and Neetu Kapoor, as well as Zahan Kapoor — in a rare gathering.

Filmed in a fly-on-the-wall documentary style, “Dining with the Kapoors” offers an outsider a candid peek into Bollywood royalty sharing a meal, memories and moments.

Armaan, son of Rima Jain, said he wanted to honour the legacy of his grandfather, legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor, on his 100th birth anniversary, and felt that nothing would be better than bringing the family together for a meal.

“Food in our family — and most Indian families and families around the world — is like a catalyst to bring people together, to reminisce about good times, memories, and have fun with it. And it's been a large part of our culture growing up. Those are things that I saw growing up more than films and cinema. I actually saw food, banter, chaos, that Punjabi household — really a house on fire,” he said.

“I just thought fusing Raj Kapoor's 100th birthday with food, which is something that this family has loved, to really reminisce and tell a beautiful story would be great,” he added.

Armaan said he decided to pitch the idea to Netflix who brought in Smriti Mundhra on board for the project. The filmmaker had earlier directed the reality TV series “Indian Matchmaking” and “The Romantics”, the four-part docuseries on Bollywood studio Yash Raj Films, for the streamer.

For Smriti, who has written and directed the special, the idea was not to show the celebrity aspect of the illustrious film family.

“Celebrity side of the Kapoor family… We know that and we see that every day. We wanted to show how they are when they're together behind closed doors. And that's what we really tried to capture — just the fun that they have together, the way they're so connected to each other, the way they tease each other, and the respect and the love they have for each other, all of that,” she said.

And it all felt relatable to Mundhra, who believes that family has always been at the core of everything she has done.

“All of my work in one form or another is about family. And this was just making another project about this really wonderful and beautiful family that just happened to be the biggest stars in the world,” she added.

Asked if he had trouble convincing some of the family members for the special, Armaan said the family agreed to the idea of celebrating Raj Kapoor's 100th birth anniversary and also reliving the memories, traditions and certain values that have been passed down multiple generations.

“I think they were completely aligned with the thought process. These are the same memories that they have had growing up. It was a very smooth process, taking this concept and being very clear with what we want to do with this particular piece.” “Like most families, the Kapoors come together in both good and bad times… And that's what we are for each other. And that's what we want to really showcase,” he added.

Smriti said she ensured that while filming the family lunch, the whole environment would feel as natural and intimate as possible. And to achieve this, the crew used handheld cameras, avoided retakes, and didn't stage or orchestrate moments.

She credited Armaan for bringing the authenticity by designing a nostalgic menu, cooking a delicious meal for the family and setting up special touches.

“I feel like good food triggers and especially if it's nostalgic food, you can't maintain any kind of pretense around those aromas and around what that triggers in your memory and all of that. So as soon as that food started coming out, then everyone's even if they had any kind of like, 'oh, we're here, filming all of that' drop because then you just get consumed by all the memories that the food evokes."

Asked who surprised her the most from the family, Smriti named Armaan's mother Rima and cousin Ranbir Kapoor.

“For me, the biggest discovery on this project was Rima Jain... I just find her so charismatic and we got along instantly from the minute we met. And she's just an incredible person.”

Smriti said she was surprised to see the sentimental side of Ranbir, son of Neetu Kapoor and the late Rishi Kapoor.

“He had the most, like almost near tears moments, when they were showing the photos and everything. I think he's very sentimental, it seems to me, at heart. And I wouldn't expect that. I don't know him well, I've only interviewed him as Ranbir, the big star. So to see that side of him was really amazing and surprising to me,” she said.

Armaan, however, was not surprised by any of the family members.

“Everyone wasn't guarded because the Kapoors are uninhibited, that's the way they are behind closed doors. And that's exactly what you see. So they were just being themselves. In fact, a couple of them asked me, 'are cameras rolling?' “And I was like, 'yeah, it's been rolling for a long time.' And they were like, 'Oh my God, I hope we haven't said or done anything wrong.' I was like, 'No, it was great.' When we come together, and that's the beauty, you just forget about everything. That's what families do to each other,” he added.

“Dining with the Kapoors” is produced by Armaan's banner Aavashyak Media. The special will be released on Netflix on Friday.