Neetu Kapoor recalled the last time she spoke to late Rishi Kapoor and opened up about how she and their son, actor Ranbir Kapoor, stayed by Rishi’s side on his last days. Rishi Kapoor passed away on 30 April 2020 after a battle with cancer.
Neetu told Film Companion, “March 31 was when his last film, Sharmaji Namkeen released. April 13, 1979 was when we got engaged. April 13, 2020 was the last time he spoke to me. Ranbir and Alia, they got married on April 14, but the puja was on April 13."
"Rishi went on ventilator that day and after that there was no communication. For those two weeks, he was on the ventilator and there was no conversation and no communication."Neetu Kapoor to Film Companion
“There was no interaction – well, there was, he was looking at me, and I took an iPad with the alphabet and I told him to point out what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t lift his finger,” she said, adding, “It was just Ranbir and me in the hospital, and to see him go through that was so tormenting. To see a man like him… he wanted to say so much, and he couldn’t express. I couldn’t see him like that.”
Neetu also talked about Ranbir and Alia’s wedding and said that the couple wanted it to be an intimate affair but she said Rishi would have wanted a grand wedding, “He’s a showman, showman ka beta. Ranbir differs, he said, ‘I would convince papa.’ He’s very shanth (peaceful).”
On Rishi Kapoor’s death anniversary this year, Neetu had shared a clip from her appearance on Dance Deewane. In the clip, a woman can be seen singing a song dedicated to Rishi.
Neetu wrote, “Today is two years since rishi ji left us … loosing a partner of 45 years was difficult n painful at that time the only way to heal my heart was to keep myself mentally occupied .. Movie n television heldped me achieve that. rishiji will always be remembered n will stay in everyone’s heart forever (sic)."
On 13 April, she had shared a throwback picture with Rishi on Instagram with the caption, "Fond memories of baisakhi day as we got engaged 43 years back on 13th April 1979."
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