He played the leading role in his father Raj Kapoor's last directorial venture Ram Teri Ganga Maili[3] in 1985.

[4][5] With legendary actors Dilip Kumar and Rekha, Kapoor also acted in the film Aag Ka Darya, which was completed in 1991 but remains unreleased.

[6] After his father's death, Rajiv Kapoor assumed the role of producer for the popular film Henna in 1991, which his older brother Randhir directed.

In 1996 Rajiv made his own directorial debut with the commercial failure Prem Granth, which starred his brother Rishi Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.

He was set to make a comeback to acting after 30 years with his appearance in the movie Toolsidas Junior, which completed filming shortly before his death[8] and was finally released on 21 May 2022.