Raj Kapoor’s centenary year marks a golden era for Indian cinema, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, while suggesting that his family should take the legacy of showman forward by making a documentary on his international “soft power”.

Modi met Raj Kapoor’s grandchildren and other members of the family, including daughter Reema Jain and daughter-in-law Neetu Kapoor, yesterday evening ahead of the filmmaker’s 100th birth anniversary on December 14, a PTI report from New Delhi stated.

“Raj Kapoor’s 100th birthday is an important milestone of India cinema’s golden journey. It began with 1947’s ‘Neel Kamal’ and we are on course to 2047. It is such a contribution to the country when we look back at this journey of 100 years,” PM Modi said.

“In the diplomatic world, we talk a lot about soft power. And at a time when this phrase didn’t even exist, Raj Kapoor sahab established India’s soft power all over the world. It was his big service to India,” he added.

The PM then suggested that the family should capture the global impact of Raj Kapoor and his films through visual format.

“Can we do something, probably a film that captures Raj Kapoor’s imprint on the hearts and minds of people of Central Asia… He had a big impact on their lives in Central Asia and I think we should resurrect it and connect it with the new generation. We should do something to link this and I think it is possible,” PM Modi said.

Recalling the power of Raj Kapoor’s movies, he narrated an incident about former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his deputy LK Advani.

“In the Jan Sangh era, there were elections in Delhi and they lost the election. So Advani ji and Atal ji said, ‘We lost the elections, what should we do now? So let’s see a movie.’ They went to see a movie and it was Raj Kapoor’s ‘Phir Subah Hogi’ (1958) and then there was a new morning,” he said.

He also narrated that he once visited China where the hosts were playing songs from Raj Kapoor’s films.

Ranbir Kapoor said for the past one week, the family has only been discussing meeting the prime minister. “We have been discussing what we will call you, whether it is Prime Minister ji or Pradhan Mantri ji,” he added.

The actor told PM Modi that once a cab driver in Russia refused to take money from him for a ride as he is the grandson of Raj Kapoor. The cinema icon’s films were overwhelmingly popular in Russia.

Reema Jain expressed her gratitude to the PM for meeting her and the family. “You have given us so much respect to the family on this day and the whole country will see this,” she said, “My father’s name travelled outside of India as well, we can call him a cultural ambassador in that sense.”

The Kapoor family, which also included Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Aadar Jain, Armaan Jain and Anissa Malhotra, invited the Prime Minister for the upcoming Raj Kapoor Film Festival. Spanning 101 cinemas across 34 cities from December 13 to 15, the gala — organised by PVR INOX Limited and the Film Heritage Foundation — will be one of the most extensive retrospectives ever dedicated to Raj Kapoor’s filmography.

Ranbir Kapoor said he will forever be grateful to PM Modi for interacting with the family. Kareena Kapoor Khan said it was her dream to interact with the Prime Minister.

“I’m so happy that on the occasion of my grandfather’s 100th birthday, we got that chance. He has so much positive energy and he is truly a global leader,” she added.