Here's Why Rishi Kapoor Wanted Neetu Kapoor's Role in 'Kabhi Kabhie'

Rishi Kapoor was reluctant to be a part of Yash Chopra's 'Kabhi Kabhie'

Netflix’s new documentary series, The Romantics, delves deep into Yash Chopra's legacy. Moreover, it also manages to give us a peek into the history of Bollywood like never before. One such instance is Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor’s interview, in which they talk about the highly celebrated film Kabhi Kabhie.

During the course of the interview, Neetu spoke about her experience filming the iconic movie, she said, “Kabhi Kabhie was a picnic. Yashji had the whole script in his head.” She called the experience "fun." 

However, Rishi shared his own experience in regard to the film, he said: 

"When I was approached for Kabhi Kabhie, I didn’t want to do the film because I felt like if they gave me Neetu’s role, I would do that. But Yashji said, ‘That’s the girl’s role. How can I give that to you?’ And I said, ‘Make it into a male.’”

Rishi Kapoor, Actor

He goes on to add, “Perhaps I was a little childish. I do not know what the reason was. But then my uncle, (Shashi Kapoor) and Yashji came and sat me down. They convinced me, took me to Srinagar, and they shot about 14, or 15 scenes in one day that I was there with them. Then I was stuck in the continuity of the film.”

He also talks about how in retrospect he feels “silly” considering he would have missed out on being part of such a wonderful film. 

This was one of the last interviews Rishi Kapoor gave before his passing. The director of the series, Smriti Mundhra, revealed in an interview that he shot the interview a month before his demise.