“Jaane se pehle ek aakhri baar milna kyun zaroori hota hai? Aisa kyun hota hai?”Rishi Kapoor, Love AaJ Kal
These lines by Rishi Kapoor will haunt us now, as none of us were prepared for the goodbyeon 30 April.
Rishi Kapoor was born on 4 September 1952. Bribed with chocolate, Rishi made his screen debut at 3 in Shree 420. His first role was as a young Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker for which earned him the National Award for Best Child Artist.
He landed his first lead role in the successful Bobby, opposite Dimple Kapadia. Rishi then went on to be a part of super hits like Karz, Kabhi Kabhie, Chandni and Damini. For decades he ruled as Bollywood's evergreen romantic hero and then started his second-innings with supporting roles. He stood tall with films like Agneepath, Mulk, 102 Not Out and Kapoor & Sons for which he won the Filmfare Award For Best Supporting Actor.
His personal life was quite dramatic too. Rishi fell in love with Neetu Singh on the sets of Zehreela Insaan and they were married for close to forty years. They were also part of iconic films as a couple. Later, they welcomed daughter Riddhima and son Ranbir into their lives. Ranbir paid homage to his father with a recreation of his iconic song Bachna Ae Haseeno. Rishi was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2018 and breathed his last on 30 April 2020.
We will always miss you.
(This is from The Quint's archives and has been republished to mark Rishi Kapoor's birth anniversary)
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