30th April 2020 - Rishi Kapoor passes away during the Corona
Lockdown !
Modesty was his motto. Acting came naturally
!
Can you think of any single role of Rishi
(Chintu) Kapoor when you thought he was a miscast ? There isn’t even one as an
exception that I remember. Such great was this actor. We as audience took his
acting to be up to the mark as a given. He was one of those fine actors who surpassed the level of judgement and were an asset to the filmmakers as well as to the
viewers.
He was the third generation of the Kapoor
family and he almost sealed the fact that acting was in their blood. I and most
belonging to my generation have witnessed Rishi Kapoor’s entire career. In fact we
must have begun our conscious movie watching tenure with Bobby. I remember memorising
“Main shayar to nahi ….” But it was Akbar Illahbadi from the legendary Amar
Akbar Anthony who won a place in our hearts. The song “Parda hai parda hai is till
date by heart like a nursery poem.
Well
the girls and the boys liked him independently. There was no debate on why he
has to be liked in any particular way.
In interviews he often attributed his success
to the song numbers he got to play in the films. He also acknowledged the fact
that he has always played the chocolate lover boy image which bred liking and
affection. But well remember all this was happening when the angry young man,
the Bachchan was roaring and ripping right through us at the same time. It must
not have been easy for Chintu to prove and establish himself as a sure shot
success material especially being accused of nepotism …(he was Raj Kapoor’s
son). He never failed to mention that he had learned a lot form his father who
he called as an institution.
Lets as a tribute take a moment and
recollect some of his songs to see how he has ruled our hearts sometime with his nimble feet …
Main shayar to nahi – Bobby
Na mangu son chandi – Bobby
Ek main aur ek tu - Khel khel mein
Khullam Khulla pyaar karenge – Khel khel
mein
Tere chehere se nazar nahi – Kabhi kabhi
O hansini – Zahreela Insaan
Shirdi wale sai baba – AAA
Parda hai parda hai – AAA
Dar-e-dil dard-e jigar – Karz
Ramji ki nikali sawari - Sargam
Chal kahi door – Doosra Aadmi
Meri kismet mein tu nahi – Premrog
Bachna ai haseeno – Hum Kisise Kum Nahi
Jabse tumko dekha hai - Damini
I loved his modesty when he said in an
interview that it was only while his career ended people had begun liking love
stories. He candidly said I was getting fatter and older and he had returned the
four signing amounts when he declared his retirement. He also said that he was
enjoying his character roles now and was challenging himself to do out of
typecast roles like the ones which we saw in Agneepath and in Mulk. More recently
he never hesitated to speak out his mind in the social media against morally
wrong ideas or actions.
Well whenever you heard him speak you
realised he was down to earth amidst all the bestowing which made him so kind that
one could imagine him to be a friend you could not only relate to but also
imagine having him accompany you & your friends one of the evenings.
I think that is the biggest tribute for a superstar
actor from a common fan like me.