Rishi Kapoor, Bollywood’s romantic icon, dies at 67  

Rishi Kapoor (September 4, 1952–April 30, 2020)

New Delhi: Rishi Kapoor, veteran actor and Bollywood heartthrob, has died at a Mumbai hospital, on Thursday. He was 67. Kapoor was suffering from blood cancer, which was diagnosed in 2018.

The veteran actor was admitted to the city’s HN Reliance Foundation Hospital on Wednesday night after he complained of breathing problems. The actor was undergoing treatment for his cancer in New York but returned to India as he wanted to continue working.

Rishi Kapoor was born in Mumbai (then Bombay) on September 4, 1952 in a family that was already well established in the Indian film industry. He was the son of celebrated actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor and grandson of Prithiviraj Kapoor, and nephew of Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor.

Kapoor made his debut in his father Raj Kapoor’s “Mera Naam Joker” (1970), for which he received the National Film Award for the best child artist. His first role as an adult was again in his father’s film “Bobby” (1973) – a teenage romance, where he was the male actor in the lead role opposite Dimple Kapadia. For this role, Kapoor won won the Filmfare Award for best actor.

Although Kapoor played romantic roles in most of his movies, he was a versatile actor. He did a number of light-hearted comedies, crime thrillers. He also played the role of a villain in some movies.

Rishi Kapoor was cremated in the afternoon at the Chandawadi crematorium in Mumbai where his family members, except his daughter, who was in Delhi, and several Bollywood personalities were present.

Kapoor is survived by his wife, Neetu Singh – who was his co-star in several films, and two children, son Ranbir Kapoor and daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahani, apart from the large Kapoor family comprising brothers Randhir and Rajeev, nieces Karisma and Kareena, and others.

This is the second successive day Bollywood lost two of its iconic actors one by one to cancer. On Wednesday, Irrfan Khan passed away in another Mumbai hospital. The two worked together in the film “D-Day” (2013).

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