New Delhi: Open, frank and unfiltered are some of the words used to describe Rishi Kapoor’s life, but there are some aspects of his life which might have evaded public eye.
A day after he was hospitalised here, Rishi Kapoor is no more. He passed away on Thursday after a two-year battle with leukaemia. He was 67.
From being a son of the iconic Raj Kapoor to the romantic hero of the seventies to the father of new-age star Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor was a magnetic personality. He lived a life in a way that lives up to the title of his autobiography, “Khullam Khulla”.
Here we take a look at the journey of the legendry actor through the years:
1952
Rishi, the second child of actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor and Krishna Raj, is born on September 4.
1955
Little Rishi, lovingly called as Chintu was just three when he faced the camera for the first time, in the iconic rain song “Pyar hua iqrar hua” of the film “Shree 420”, featuring his father Raj Kapoor with Nargis. During his last interview with IANS, asked if he remembered the shoot, Rishi replied: “Nah! I hold hand with other two boys and walked. Baaki kahan yaad rahega, bahat chhota tha main.”
1970
“Mera Naam Joker” marks his debut as a young boy, as the younger version of the protagonist clown Raju, essayed by his father Raj Kapoor. He bagged the National Award as Best Child Artist.
1973
He makes his debut as a Bollywood hero in “Bobby”, a teenage love story that also featured Dimple. The film is a superhit.
1980
Rishi marries Neetu Singh, his co-star of many a hit. Also, this is the year of “Karz”, a milestone in his career that cemented his image as a romantic hero, with superhit songs like “Dard-e-dil” and ‘Om Shanti Om’. In September
1983
He appears in “Coolie” alongside Amitabh Bachchan after earlier collaborations such as “Kabhie Kabhie”, “Amar Akbar Anthony”.
1988
Bollywood loses its ultimate showman Raj Kapoor. Rishi lost more than his father e he lost his mentor and his favourite film director. Rishi was starring in Kapoor’s senior final film “Henna” back then. The film would be completed by Rishi’s older brother Randhir Kapoor in 1991.
1999
Rishi Kapoor turns director for the first and last time with “Aa Ab Laut Chalen”, starring Rajesh Khanna, Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna and Suman Ranganathan. The film failes to create fireworks at the box office.
2010
Rishi Kapoor joins Twitter in January, and is an instant cyber sensation. Over the past decade he had been, by turns, regaling, informing, and triggering off debates routinely with his blunt statements on social media.
2012
The actor, mostly known for his loverboy roles in his heydays, turns villain as Rauf Lala in “Agneepath”. The performance remains one of his best till date. He repeats villainy again the next year in “D-Day”.
2016
His role of a merry-spirited grandpa obsessed with Mandakini of “Ram Teri Ganga Maili” in the film “Kapoor & Sons” was a comic delight across generations.
2017
Rishi pens his autobiography “Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored”. True to his nature, the writer Rishi unveils unadulterated emotions and pours his heart out in the book.
2018
He is diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and he flies off to New York for a year’s treatment. Incidentally on October 1, 2018, Rishi’s mother, Krishna Raj passes away. For fans, the year is special because Rishi Kapoor united with Amitabh Bachchan for what would be their last time in “102 Not Out”. In the comedy drama, Rishi played the 75-year-old son of a man who is 102.
2019
The actor’s last release, “The Body”, opens on November 13. The film co-starring Emraan Hashmi and Sobhita Dhulipala fares below expectations.
2020
Rishi Kapoor breathes his last at 8.45 am on April 30. He is 67.
Here are also some trivia from the multifaceted life that he led:
* Rishi Kapoor’s love for food, especially non-vegetarian food, is not something that the world doesn’t know about. But there was a place he had to turn vegetarian, and that was when he visited Chennai because he was coming after a darshan at Tirupati.
* Rishi Kapoor had a thing for ‘agarbatti’, and used to carry a packs wherever he went. His favourite fragrance was Nag Champa.
* The world lovingly calls him Chintu ji, and in 2009 he even starred in a film by that name. But he hated his nickname, and once took to Twitter to share his old picture and expressed his views on nicknames, saying “parents must never nickname a child”.
* There are several reports suggesting that he used sweaters to look hot.
* He did two international movies — “Don’t Stop Dreaming” in 2007 and “Sambar Salsa” in 2008.
* He struggled with depression at one point of his career due to back to back failures.
* His songs are evergreen, and still loved by one and all. But Rishi personally never liked many of his songs.
* He admitted that there was a time when he was a male chauvinist.
* He always admitted to his flaws. The actor once confessed to buying a film award.
* In his book “Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored”, he claimed his father Raj Kapoor was involved with other women even while he was married to Krishna Raj Kapoor.
