It’s been a tough week in the world of entertainment as Bollywood’s eternal romantic Rishi Kapoor breathed his last leaving family, friends and fans around the world grieving.
The 67-year-old actor passed away early morning April 30 2020 after he was admitted at a hospital in Mumbai after citing difficulty in breathing. He had earlier been diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and spent the year under treatment in New York and returned to India in September 2019. According to the official statement released by the Kapoor family, “Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45am IST in hospital today after a two-year battle with leukaemia.”
Unfortunately, this week has definitely been a dark one for the entertainment industry, as the news of Rishi’s death came only a day after another illustrious actor Irrfan Khan passed away. Both the demises have left millions of their fans shocked and saddened around the world.
The young heartthrob
Born into the illustrious Kapoor dynasty, Rishi was destined to become an actor with his father Raj Kapoor being the top actor and director of that time who till date is remembered as one of the greatest actors in world.
Even as a child Rishi was seen in his father’s productions including Mera Naam Joker in 1970 which saw Rishi play a younger version of his father’s character. Although the movie failed at the box office initially, Rishi went on to win the National Award for Best Child Star that year for his impeccable performance.
However, his mainstream Bollywood debut was not till 1973, when he was paired opposite Dimple Kapadia for the iconic love story Bobby. The movie for the very first time saw a young teenage romance set a new trend for the 70s and is credited for introducing the ‘rich-versus-poor; lovers against the world’ culture in Indian cinema.
The movie became the talk of the town and was the second biggest hit of the 70s decade. Meanwhile, Rishi won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor — the first actor to do so in his debut film and still remains the youngest at 21.
The decade of Bobby and success
While Bobby ushered Rishi to overnight stardom, he had been featured in more than a 100 movies in his overall career with some of the biggest hits of the 70s. Fresh off the success of Bobby, he was cast with Neetu Singh in their first movie together.
The actors, who were cast in a series of movies together over the decade, fell in love, tied the knot and have since remained an iconic couple in Bollywood. Interestingly, Neetu was in the running for the lead role in Bobby but lost the race to Dimple.
In 1975, he was seen in two memorable movies Rafoo Chakkar and Khel Khel Main — both the movies saw the popular pair of Rishi and Neetu in the lead and were superhits at the time. The former was said to have been inspired by the Marilyn Monroe starrer movie Some Like It Hot and was also among the very first Hindi films to take up the subject of same-sex romance and gender identity in a light-hearted treatment.
The following year, Rishi who was lovingly known as Chintu starred in the intense romance Laila Majnu based upon the legendary tale of two star crossed lovers. Rishi won a wide appreciation for his acting and ability to portray a character with such intensity, a complete overhaul from his debut role.
Rishi, by now a prominent star was cast in Yash Chopra’s 1976 classic Kabhie Kabhie. The movie featured an ensemble cast comprising the biggest stars of the decade including Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Rakhee and Waheeda Rehman in lead roles alongside Rishi, Neetu and Simi Grewal. The movie till date remains a Bollywood epic and is remembered for its brilliant performances.
Amar Akbar Anthony — a major milestone in his career, released in 1977 and set a new trend of ‘masala’ entertainers in Bollywood. Starring the biggest actor of the decade Amitabh Bachchan alongside Vinod Khanna and Rishi himself, the movie was the biggest hit of the year and remains one of the finest comedies ever made in the world.
With some of the decade’s biggest hits to his name, Rishi stood tall alongside the biggest names of the industry at the time and for the remaining years was seen in movies like 1979’s biggest hit Sargam opposite Jaya Prada, for which he received a Filmfare nomination as best actor.
The decade of romance
In 1980, Rishi tied the knot with Neetu Singh who had been his costar in several of his movies in the 70s and also starred in Subhash Ghai’s musical thriller Karz. Also starring Tina Munium and Simi Grewal, the movie was a huge success of the year with several hit tracks and applause for Rishi.
The same year, he was also seen in Naseeb opposite Hema Malini, Reena Roy and Shatrughan Sinha. The movie broke several box office records and was listed among the only 13 movies to cross the 1 crore territorial mark. In the following years he was repeatedly paired up with Tina Munium and was seen with the actress in movies like Yeh Vaada Raha, Deedar-e-Yaar and Bade Dilwala.
Saagar — which saw Rishi Kapoor pair up with his debut co-star Dimple Kapadia after more than a decade was an instant hit and also India’s official entry for the Oscars for Best Foreign Film for the year 1985. The movie which was Dimple’s much awaited comeback was also a treat for the fans of the iconic onscreen couple.
While the 80s witnessed the reunion of one iconic Rishi Kapoor pair, another was also born. In 1986 Rishi was paired with that time’s leading actress Sridevi in the fantasy film Nagina. The movie quickly after its release was a massive success and was one of the very rare woman-centric movies to have become a commercial success. The movie also ushered Sridevi to stardom and becoming India’s first female superstar while Rishi was nominated for his performance as well.
However, Nagina was not the last time Rishi and Sridevi were seen together. The power couple was later cast in Yash Chopra’s romantic classic and one of the greatest Indian films of all time — Chandni. The romance saga also starred Vinod Khanna and the love triangle is credited for ending an era of violent action movies in Bollywood; reviving the musical romantic genre. Sadly, the leading trio has now all passed away leaving behind the essence of Chandni.
While the nineties saw a new wave of younger superstars the Khans making their way to Bollywood; Rishi also had his fair share of success. He was cast in several memorable romantic movies opposite the decade’s biggest leading ladies including Juhi Chawla in Bol Radha Bol, Daraar and Eena Meena Deeka, Madhuri Dixit in Yaarana and was also paired up with Manisha Koraila, Tabu and Raveena Tandon in other projects.
However, as fresh crop heroes was entering the industry, the decade only witnessed sporadic hits for the actor but was anyhow seen in two classics namely Damini and Henna. The latter which marked the Bollywood debut of Pakistani star Zeba Bakhtiar was directed by his father Raj Kapoor but completed by his brother Randhir after the former’s demise.
Second Innings
After a not so successful decade, Rishi decided to reinvent himself and took up several supporting yet prominent roles in the 2000s. He was seen in several commercial hits playing character roles and was lauded for his comic timing while also a naturally charming screen presence.
In 2002, the Chandni hero was seen in the movie Yeh Hai Jalwa, playing the role of Salman Khan’s father. The film was however not successful at the time of its release but later developed a cult following, crediting the onscreen chemistry between himself and Khan.
Meanwhile, his first major success in the Gen Z decade was Kunal Kohli’s 2004 romantic comedy Hum Tum starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherji — a genre being something Rishi had created himself in his prime days. The movie won him critical acclaim as the charming father of Saif and he was also nominated as the best supporting actor.
Following he was also seen in several other successful projects such as Fanna, Delhi 6, Namastey London, Love Aaj Kal and Luck By Chance — the last two on the list saw the reunion of two of his iconic pairings. His wife and longtime co-star Neetu had a cameo in Love Aaj Kal while Dimple Kapadia shared screen space in Luck By Chance — the latter also bagged him a Filmfare nomination.
Also in 2007, his son Ranbir Kapoor made his Bollywood debut and has since been a leading actor in the industry.
The final decade
After playing the ideal, friendly father in most of his movies in the 2000s, Rishi reinvented himself once again with his first movie of 2010 titled Do Dooni Chaar. Paired with his wife Neetu for the first time after 30 years in a leading role, the movie was a comic story of an elder middle-class couple and their struggles. The actor was particularly appreciated for his performance and won the Critics Best Actor Award at the Filmfare Awards while the movie itself was a moderate success — the first time a story driven movie gained such prominence when starring a middle-aged couple.
He was later seen in many memorable movies and was praised for his performances in a variety of roles. Rishi played an underworld don in Agneepath and later the very popular flamboyant dean in Karan Johar’s Student of the Year. In 2016, Rishi won his final Filmfare Award as the best supporting actor in the movie Kapoor & Sons which also starred Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. The movie was an instant success and the actor was widely applauded and loved as the cute grumpy grandfather.
In 2019, his last movie The Body was released while he had been shooting for a movie starring Juhi Chawla titled Sharmaji Namkeen and was also to star in the Hindi remake of The Intern opposite Deepika Padukone, at the time of his untimely death on April 30, 2020.
The legendary actor is survived by his wife Neetu, son Ranbir and daughter Ridhima
Passing away at the age of 67, Rishi Kapoor has left behind a legacy that shall remain unparalleled. His boy next door charm, lover boy charisma and quirky dance moves make him unforgettable even today. He was also particularly noted for his signature tucked in oversized shirts and blazers which later became a style trend followed by his loving fans.
Along with a number of memorable movies, Rishi also has many chartbuster songs to his credit that everyone from young to old swoon to even today. These tracks include Dard-e-Dil, Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, O Meri Chandni, Bachna Ae Haseeno, Om Shanti Om, Hoga Tumse Pyaara Kon, Jaane Do Na and Main Shayar Tou Nahin among many others.
