As if Irfan Khan’s death was not enough, we came to know of the departure of Rishi Kapoor on Thursday.
A friend remarked ‘What is happening to Bollywood? Is it the curse of Narendra Moodi? The social media is full of condolences for the departed soul. The Kapoor family has been good actors and barring Raj Kapoor the others have not ventured into directional field. Anum Kher pestered Rishi Kapoor, niece Karishma Kapoor and son Rambir Kapoor on this issue. Rambir Kapoor said that he may venture into directional spree later on. Raj Kapoor had spent all his savings on his dream project Mera Naam Jokar (1970) but it did not click despite its grandeur and vast canvass. Rishi played the teenage role infatuated by his teacher Simi Garewal.
Opting to be an actor – Asked if he wanted to become anything else than an actor, he said that whenever he was scolded by his mother, he would stand in front of mirror and assess his crying expressions. When his father Raj Kapoor consulted his mother for casting Chintu for a role in Mera Naam Jokar, she said that it was fine as long as it did not have adverse impact in his studies. Rishi was fifteen at that time. Rishi went straight to his writing table and started practicing his autograph. Such was his passion for acting in his child hood. His failure in Senior Cambridge Examinations deterred him from going abroad for chartered accountancy and instead opts for acting. Rishi’s first shot in ‘Shiri 420’ was taken when he was only 2 years old for the line ‘Hum Na Rahain Gei Tum Na Raho Gei’ for the song ‘Pyar Hua Iqrar Hua’, so the seeds for acting were sown when Rishi was a baby. He also disclosed that he did not give any pet name to his children as he had not liked by he being called by his nickname. Rishi was representative of First Family of Original Indian Cinema’: father Raj Kapoor, grandfather Prithvi Raj Kapoor, uncles Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Randheer Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor and maternal uncles Prem Nath, Rajinder Nath, Prem Chopra followed by successful actors in the younger generation like Kunal Kapoor, Karan Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Karishma Kapoor etc. Rishi remembered Dilip Kumar fondly especially when he acted with him the film ‘Duniya’ as he used to call Rishi ‘Sunnny Boy’. Many established actors like Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna desired to work in Raj Kapoor’s films but the film maker in Raj Kapoor desires to look for new faces, Rishi disclosed.
Rishi remembered Dilip Kumar fondly especially when he acted with him the film ‘Duniya’ as he used to call Rishi ‘Sunnny Boy.’ Many established actors like Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna desired to work in Raj Kapoor’s films but the film maker in Raj Kapoor desires to look for new faces, Rishi disclosed
Films: Raj Kapoor’s film ‘Bobby’ was basically a Dimple Kapadia’s film but the credit went to Rishi as Dimple had got married at completion of this film, disclosed Rishi in an interview, he was 18 at that time.
According to Wikipedia, he played leading roles as the romantic lead in 92 films between 1973 and 2000. Some of his notable films during this period were Khel Khel Mein (1975), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Karz (1980), and Chandni (1989). Since the 2000s, he played character roles to critical acclaim in Love Aaj Kal (2009), Agneepath (2012), and Mulk (2018). For his performance in Do Dooni Chaar (2010), he won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, and for his role in Kapoor & Sons (2016), he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. His final film appearance was in The Body (2019)’
He worked with Neetu Singh, who he married in 1980, for the first time in Zahreela Insaan (1974); the couple went on to share the screen in multiple projects including Kabhi Kabhi (1976) and Doosra Aadmi (1976). Rishi Kapoor’s autobiography Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored,] was released on 15 January 2017. Rishi Kapoor wrote the book along with Meena Iyer, and the title was published under Harper Collins.
Death:
It has been reported in the media that Rish Kapoor died due to Leukemia at 67 but when he was admitted in the hospital it was due to breathing problem. He had been to USA for cancer treatment and was reported to have been recovered. The question arises whether could it be due to Corona Virus. Kapoor was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in 2018 and went to New York City for treatment. After a successful treatment for over a year, Rishi Kapoor returned to India on 26 September 2019. He had two sisters, insurance agent Ritu Nanda and late Rima Jain.
He shall be remembered for his roles as a hero and character actor.
The writer is the recipient of the prestigious Pride of Performance award. He can be reached at [email protected]