Looking back at Rishi Kapoor’s legacy

Rishi Kapoor during his prime.

Eminent Indian film star Rishi Kapoor breathed his last at 67, after a two-year battle with leukemia. He was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai a few days ago after complaining about breathing difficulties, and ultimately passed away on April 30. His last rites took place at Chandanwadi Crematorium in Kalbadevi, Mumbai.

In 2018, Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with the bone marrow cancer, following which the actor was in New York for more than a year to receive treatment. While he returned to India this year, he had again been hospitalised in New Delhi in early February, while on a visit to New Delhi.

He is survived by his wife Neetu Kapoor, son Ranbir and daughter Riddhima. In a statement released after the actor's death, his family said he remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. The statement further said that family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him.

Rishi Kapoor was born on September 4, 1952, in Mumbai, the second of the five children of Raj and Krishna Kapoor. His family heaves of film legends. His grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor, was a renowned stage and film performer since the late 1920s. Rishi Kapoor's father, Raj Kapoor directed, produced and starred in his own films, and had already rolled out one of his finest works, Awara, the year before he was born.

Rishi and Neetu Kapoor in ‘Do Dooni Chaar’.

His brothers, Randhir Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor, are actors as well. Rishi married his co-star, Neetu Singh, and his son Ranbir followed in his parents' footsteps, alongside some of his nieces and nephews, notably Kareena Kapoor who is a stalwart in the industry.

His death has robbed the world of a seasoned entertainer. Kapoor first appeared before the camera as a child in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420 (1955), in the song, Pyar Hua Iqrar Hua. Rishi Kapoor understood the pleasures, peculiarities and pitfalls of show business very early. His first full-scale role was in his father's Mera Naam Joker, in 1970. When filming began in 1968, Rishi Kapoor was 16, and was recruited to play the younger version of Raj Kapoor's character Raju, a circus clown. He also appeared in a few plays as a child.

After he started his career in earnest as an adult in Raj Kapoor's Bobby (1973) opposite Dimple Kapadia, his range of roles spanned romances, comedies, socially themed dramas, thrillers, historicals and melodramas.

In a career spanning over five decades, the actor played the romantic lead in over 90 films between 1973 and 2000. He won numerous awards throughout his illustrious career, including the National Film Award for his role in Mera Naam Joker and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

He was a part of hit films such as Amar Akbar Anthony, Laila Majnu, Rafoo Chakkar, Sargam, Karz, Bol Radha Bol and others. He also directed the 1999 film, Aa Ab Laut Chalen, starring Akshay Khanna, Aiswharya Rai and Rajesh Khanna among others.

Kapoor played character roles and showed his mettle in films like Hum Tum, Fanaa, Delhi-6 and Do Dooni Chaar, where he appeared with wife Neetu Singh, after more than 25 years. He also appeared in a rare, critically acclaimed negative role in Agneepath in 2012. In the later stage of his career, he was seen in films such as Kapoor and Sons, D-Day, Mulk and 102 Not Out, in which he starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan after more than 20 years.

His loss has left his fans, friends and colleagues shocked. Many took to social media to express their condolences to the family.

Among countless tweets, Amitabh Bachchan was one of the firsts to take to the platform to mourn the death of his co-star in multiple films. He wrote, "Rishi Kapoor... gone... passed away. I am destroyed!"

Rishi Kapoor had shot some portions of the comedy film, Sharmaji Namkeen, in Delhi in February. He was last seen in Emraan Hashmi's The Body, and had recently announced his next project, a remake of Hollywood film The Intern, also featuring Deepika Padukone.

This has been a tragic week for the entertainment industry as the news of Rishi Kapoor's death came a day after another brilliant actor, Irrfan Khan, passed away due to colon infection and a rare form of neuroendocrine cancer.