Rishi Kapoor, one of the most talented and successful actors in Bollywood, would have celebrated his 70th birthday on Sep 4 had he been alive. Unfortunately he passed away two years ago in the midst of shooting the film Sharmaji Namkeen. Just a day earlier, Irrfan Khan, another great talent of the Hindi film industry, had departed for his heavenly abode. The twin shocks left film fans devastated. Coincidentally, the month of September 2022, also marks the 49th anniversary of one of Rishi Kapoor’s greatest hits namely Bobby.
This film was a gamble by Rishi’s father Raj Kapoor who produced and directed it. Raj sahab’s concern was to recover the losses of his film Mera Naam Joker. Raj was once asked on television which was his favourite film and he replied thus: “All my films are like my children. When they become successful, it gives me great pleasure and pride. But when one child is unable to progress and succeed, then as a parent I naturally have more concern and care for that child. Such was the case with Mera Naam Joker.” Incidentally the film later did very well in the Soviet Union but when Raj sahab said these lines, the film had not succeeded at the box office in India.
Later Raj came up with the idea of Bobby. Written by K.A. Abbas, it was about teenage romance with the rich versus poor theme as a background. Raj Kapoor the great showman took a huge gamble. For one thing teenage romance was an untried theme in Bollywood. Moreover Raj had cast relatively newcomers. One was his son Rishi in the lead role. Till then Rishi had done only small roles. The other was Dimple Kapadia. It was her first film and she was only 15-year-old when the film was shot.
But Raj Kapoor’s decision was right and the hugely successful film catapulted the two newcomers into international fame when it was released in 1973. The film became the top-grossing Indian hit of 1973 and one of the top 20 highest-grossing Indian films of all time. It also became a blockbuster in the USSR where it attracted 62.6 million viewers thus making it among the top 20 biggest hits of all time in the Soviet Union.
Bobby also launched Rishi Kapoor’s meteoric rise in Bollywood. For some time he was typecast as the young lighthearted man romancing his heroines in scenic locales. Rishi once joked that among Bollywood stars, he had the best collection of colourful sweaters because all his films required him to put on a sweater and sing and dance on hill tops with his heroine. Between 1973 and 2000, Rishi starred as the romantic lead in 92 films among them being outstanding hits like Khel Khel Mein, Karz, Sargam, Laila Majnu (1976) and Prem Rog.
Rishi also acted in multi starrers including Kabhi Kabhie, Naseeb, Coolie and others. When it came to acting, he created his own space even amidst co-stars who were of the stature of Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha and others. In the film Amar Akbar Anthony, produced by Manmohan Desai and with dialogues written by Kader Khan, Rishi played the role of a Qawwali singer named Akbar Illahabadi. The story was about three brothers, separated by circumstances and being brought up under three different religions. Broadly the theme dealt with religious unity and this was a concept close to Rishi’s own heart.
Due to his family’s connections, Rishi was exposed to films from an early age. In his autobiography, Rishi has related an interesting incident from his childhood. One day his grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor drove him and his siblings to the studio where Mughal-E-Azam was being shot. “I was driven to the sets by Emperor Akbar himself,” Rishi has written in a lighter vein. “It was the sight of the magnificent swords and armour that roused a lifetime interest in me for the world of films.” Whenever producer-director K Asif came to their house to discuss the epic film with Prithivraj Kapoor, little Rishi listened to their talk with rapt attention. Soon that childlike curiosity about films grew into a great passion.
During his career, numerous hit songs have been picturised on Rishi. Such was his energy and zest while singing these songs on screen, that one cannot imagine anyone else singing these super hit tunes. The most memorable Rishi Kapoor songs are Om Shanti Om from Karz, Bachna Ae Haseeno from Hum Kisse Se Kam Nahi, Ek Main Aur Ek Tu from Khel Khel Mein, Dafli Wale Dafli Baja from Sargam and the two qawwalis namely Parda Hai Parda and Shirdi Wale Sai Baba from Amar Akbar Anthony.
His sense of humour never left him till his last days. A few years ago he recalled that once he was travelling from Mumbai to Hyderabad with Madhuri Dixit by train. In order to avoid harassment by the general public, the two decided to wear burqas to hide their identity. But when the train reached Pune railway station, Rishi’s burqa accidentally fell off. The public were shocked to see that the person in the burqa was none other than Rishi Kapoor and mobbed him. Rishi’s popularity never faded. He was a man of immense talent and he had a zest for life. He is no longer with us but his memorable acting and his unforgettable films will always be in our hearts.
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