To Bollywood audiences, Sunjay Kapur, who died on Thursday, may have been Karisma Kapoor‘s ex-husband, but to the wider international community, he was much more – an industrialist, a polo player, and a friend of royalty. The international media also reported Sunjay’s death, but their focus was largely on his businesses and links to royalty, rather than the Bollywood connection. (Also read: Sunjay Kapur’s funeral to be held in Delhi, but legal hurdle in getting body back to India)
How international media reported Sunjay Kapur’s death
Sunjay Kapur died after suffering a heart attack while he was in the middle of a polo match in London on Thursday. The 53-year-old was a regular in the polo circles of the UK, which is how he came to be associated with Prince William. The Prince of Wales has been described as a friend of the late businessman.
The New York Post’s headline about Sunjay’s death read: “Prince William’s billionaire pal Sunjay Kapur dead after swallowing bee during polo match”. People Magazine also focused on Sunjay’s friendship with William and the bizarre reported nature of his death. “Prince William’s friend dies after swallowing a bee at Windsor polo match,” read their headline. The New York Times, however, highlighted his marriage to Karisma. Their headline read: “Sunjay Kapur, businessman and ex-husband of Bollywood star, dies at 53.”
Most British publications also mentioned Prince William in their reportage of the billionaire businessman’s death. “Billionaire friend of Prince William dies from heart attack after ‘swallowing a bee’,” wrote the Daily Mail. Similarly, the Telegraph reported, “Billionaire friend of Prince of Wales dies after ‘swallowing a bee’.”
Sunjay Kapoor’s life and death
Sunjay Kapur was the chairman of auto components maker Sona Comstar. After taking over as managing director of the company after his father’s death in 2015, Sunjay spearheaded its expansion into China, Mexico, Serbia and the U.S. As per Bloomberg, Sona Comstar has a market cap of ₹31000 crore (nearly $4 billion). According to Forbes, Sunjay Kapur had a net worth of $1.2 billion ( ₹10300 crore) at the time of his death.
The London-based Indian business tycoon had been married to Karisma Kapoor from 2003-16. The two have two children. Sunjay was previously married to fashion designer and stylist and Nandita Mahtani from 1996-2000. Since 2017, he had been married to model-turned-actor Priya Sachdev, with whom he had a son.
