Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor was known for his outspoken and jovial nature. He never minced his words while criticising or praising those who belonged to or outside the film industry. He passed away at the age of 67 after losing his two-year battle to Leukemia on April 30 at 8.45 am. He breathed his last at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai wherein he was admitted on April 29 morning after facing breathing complications.
His brother Randhir Kapoor told the media that Rishi Kapoor will be cremated in Chandanwadi Crematorium, Marine Lines. While Ranbir Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor are in Mumbai, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni won't be able to attend her father's funeral as she is stuck in Delhi due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown.
While the entire nation is mourning the loss of veteran actor, let's revisit the times when Rishi Kapoor had unabashedly made brutally honest confessions about some of the important parts of his life in his biography Khullam Khulla that raised several eyebrows.
On Amitabh Bachchan not giving due credits to his co-stars for the success of his films
"To go back to Amitabh, I must confess here is still a lingering issue I have with Amitabh Bachchan. A big disadvantage of working in an all-star movie in those days was that everybody only wanted to make action films, which automatically meant that the star who could carry off action with the most flair would get the meatiest part. That's how, with the exception of Kabhi Kabhie, which was a romantic film, none of the multi-starrers I featured in had an author-backed role for me. And it wasn't just me. Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna faced it too. Although we may have been smaller stars, we were not lesser actors. But this is something that Amitabh has never ever admitted to, in any interview or book. He has never given due credit to the actors who have worked with him."
On losing his first girlfriend Yasmin Mehta, a Parsi girl, due to link-up reports with Dimple Kapadia
"By the time Bobby was released in 1973, Stardust, which was the most popular magazine of its time, published a story about a budding romance between Dimple and me. Dimple, who by this time was already married to Rajesh Khanna, was not greatly affected by it. But it put an end to my relationship with Yasmin, I tried hard to get her back in my life, but she did not agree."
On his father Raj Kapoor's extramarital affairs with Nargis and Vyjayanthimala
"I was very young when my father had an affair with Nargis ji, and so was not affected by it. I don't remember feeling anything was amiss at home either. But I do remember moving into the Natraj Hotel on Marine Drive with my mom during the time Papa was involved with Vyjayanthimala. My mother had decided to put her foot down this time. From the hotel, we shifted for two months into an apartment in Chitrakoot. My father had bought the apartment for Mom and us. He did all he could to woo her back, but my mother wouldn't give in until he had ended that chapter of his life."
On blaming Neetu Kapoor for his failures and straining their relationship
"Neetu was pregnant with Riddhima and had to endure my breakdown in that fragile condition. I finally came through it with the help of supportive colleagues, family and friends, but I can only imagine how agonizing the experience must have been for her."
On Neetu feeling insecure in their marriage because of Dimple Kapadia
"Many years into our marriage, Neetu confided in me that the only time she had felt threatened was when I worked with Dimple in Saagar. But she needn't have worried. Dimple was a friend, even if she may have been a little more than that during Bobby. Ten years had gone by; she was coming out of a marriage with two children of her own and I was also well settled with two kids."
On buying a film award
"I think that Amitabh was sulking because I had won the best actor award for Bobby. I am sure he felt the award was rightfully his for Zanjeer, which released the same year. I am ashamed to say it, but I actually 'bought' that award. I was so naïve. There was this PRO, Taraknath Gandhi, who said to me, 'Sir, tees hazaar de do, toh aap ko main award dila doonga.' I am not the manipulative sort but I admit that I gave him the money without thinking."
On being a male chauvinist
"It was, as I have said often, her decision to wind up her career after marriage. I can say with a clear conscience that I did not force it upon her. We did agree before we got married that once we had children, one of us would be the earning partner and the other would be the nurturing parent. But to be honest, I didn't try to convince her to keep working either. There was a chauvinist in me that didn't want his wife to go out to work. I wanted Neetu to finish all her commitments before we got married. All I can say in my defence is that my views have changed since then."
On Rajesh Khanna throwing away his ring worn by Dimple into the sea
"Yasmin (Yasmin Mehta, Rishi Kapoor's first girlfriend) had presented me with a ring when we were dating, a simple one with a peace sign on it. When we were filming Bobby, Dimple would pull it off and wear it on her finger. She ended up keeping it. When Rajesh Khanna proposed to her, he saw the ring and flung it into the sea near her house in Juhu. Inevitably the headlines blazed: 'Rajesh Khanna throws Rishi Kapoor's ring into the sea'. The truth is that I was never in love with Dimple or even infatuated with her."
