Rishi Kapoor: The Prince of Romance

The baby-faced, twinkly-eyed bon vivant Rishi ushered in a new era of romance in Hindi Cinema. He had all the passion of a Shakespearean hero with a generous dollop of innocence. The cute scion of the biggest dynasty of Indian Cinema, Rishi forged his own path, building an illustrious career with oeuvre of 150 odd films and creating his own legacy. He was a versatile performer with vast acting range and skill. His films often had impassioned declaration of love, innocence, humour and serenading the loveliest of ladies to the strains of some of the most enduring songs. He was mischievous, rebellious, and passionate who could feel without being maudlin. His effervescence and flamboyance instantly set him apart from his contemporaries. From his hysteria-inducing debut in ‘Bobby’ to his turn as the principled patriarch in Mulk, he gave hits on his own and maintained his fan following. He was the Dorian Gray of Indian cinema, an ageless, immortal icon of youth stunning good-looks and energy.

Rishi Kapoor (Chintu) was born on September 4, 1952 in Chembur (Bombay) as the second son of Raj Kapoor and Krishna Raj Kapoor. He belonged to the fist family of Bollywood. He did his schooling at Campion School, Mumbai and Mayo College, Ajmer. The little educated Rishi, who was expelled from school every six months for gambling/ smoking, wanted to pursue business studies. However, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, Rishi chose films as his career. As a kid, he used to make facial expressions in front of a mirror. Along with his siblings Randhir and Ritu, he featured in the iconic love song ‘Pyar Hua Ikraar Hua hai’ (Shree 420). While he was still in the school, Raj Kapoor introduced Chintu in the role of young Joker in 'Mera Naam Joker' (1970). The tubby Chintu had a crush on his svelte teacher Mary (Simi Garewal). Rishi could never forgot the shooting of slapping scene in which Achla Sachdev slapped him so hard that by the end of the shot, his cheeks turned blue and his tears were uncontrollable. Eventually, his performance won him the National Film Award for Best Child Artist.

Rishi barely out of his teens with his flaming pomegranate like cheeks and dreamy eyes, showed the essence of his acting opposite 16-year-old debutante Dimple Kapadia in the box-office scorcher Bobby (1973). The movie became a trendsetter, not only for its fashion templates but for its portrayal of youthful love and raging hormones. Rishi won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Bobby outsmarting the much deserving young angry man Amitabh Bachchan in Zanjeer (1973). He felt ashamed to admit that he bought this award for thirty thousand bucks.

An early attempt of playing a role with grey shades in  Zehreela Insan (1975) failed at the box office, limiting Rishi's repertoire to romantic characters. The success of romantic thriller ‘Khel Khel Mein’ (1975), cemented the pairing between Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh. After this, they made appearances in films like Zinda Dil, Kabhie Kabhie, Amar Akbar Anthony, Dosra Aadmi, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Anjaane Mein, Jhootha Kahin Ka, Duniya Meri Jeb Mein and Dhan Daulat. He gave a solo masterpiece performance in 'Laila Majnu'. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Rishi’s Akbar held his own against Bachchan’s scene-stealing Anthony. The romantic musical film 'Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahi' proved Rishi's dominance in Bollywood. In ‘Karz’ he gave a tight performance as a reincarnated murder victim. The failure demoralized him and he would tremble on the sets and feel faint. He merged out of his phobia and cycle of hits and flops like Sargam, Prem Rog, Sagar, Nagina, Chandni, Bol Radha Bol, Henna, Deewana, Damini and Ek Chadar Maili Si etc. became a routine. His last role as conventional lead actor was in Karobaar: The Business of Love, which had a delayed release in 2000.

Rishi was known as a 'lady killer' in the film parties and media. Despite the era of sex, violence and action movies, Rishi Kapoor's image of 'Lover Boy' remained intact. He paired with 23 new faces like Kajal Kiran, Shoma Anand, Jaya Prada, Naseem and Zeba Bakhtiar etc. He could not continue as the eternal lover boy and gracefully went behind the camera and came out with a beautiful movie "Aa Ab Laut Chale" (1999).

In the new millennium Rishi reinvented himself by choosing a number of meaty character-driven roles that earned him accolades. Whether it was the endearing, eccentric Santosh Duggal in Do Dooni Chaar or the deliciously over-the-top Bollywood producer Romy in ‘Luck By Chance’, his second incarnation was objectively richer in terms of variety. His ability to get under the skin of characters continued with his menacing and ruthless Rauf Lala in Agneepath. He gave a nuanced and balanced portrayal of a retired Muslim lawyer countering Islam-o-phobia in Mulk. In ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’, he played a Marwari wedding planner. He also starred in the low-budget English films ‘Don't Stop Dreaming’ and ‘Sambar Salsa’, directed by cousin Aditya Raj Kapoor. He was also on track to star in the Hindi remake of the Hollywood comedy “The Intern” and forthcoming film “Sharmaji Namkeen”.

The love story of Chintu (Rishi) and Neetu became talk of the Bollywood. Neetu was barely fourteen when they first met on the set of 'Zahreela Insan'. Rishi gave her key to his heart, the same key-locket adorned Neetu's neck in the film 'Deewar'. They got married on January 22, 1980. The couple had two children Ranbir Kapoor, a successful Bollywood star and Ridima Kapoor is a dress designer.

The turbulence in his career sometimes extended beyond the screen with reports of hot-headed behavior and spats with his wife. The famous Kapoor love for liquor, second only to rich food, had its ugly side. He was known for his unfiltered tweets, a reflection of the man who was cerebral, straightforward and full of joie de vivre. He was also passionate about cars and had a huge car collection of Porsche, Bentley, BMW with Royal SUV and Audi, being his favourite. He shared some interesting stories from his life in his memoir: “My Autobiography- Rishi Kapoor- Uncensored! Khulham Khulla”.

Rishi Kapoor acted in about 150 films during his three-decade illustrious film career. He was honoured with the Filmfare lifetime achievement award in 2008, and went on to win the Filmfare critics’ award as best actor for Do Dooni Chaar (2010) and best supporting actor for Kapoor & Sons (2016). Rishi was also awarded the IIFA Best Negative Role Award for his role in ‘Agneepath’ (2017).

Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in 2018 and had undergone treatment in the United States. Leaving a deep void, veteran Rishi Kapoor passed away on April 30, 2020.