How Lover boy made his mark in B-town in Era of "Angry young Man"

:-Rajesh Ahuja

New Delhi:He was one actor who managed to carve a unique identity for himself as the 'eternal lover boy' in an era of action films dominated by the omnipresent superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

At a time when Bachchan dominated the scene with action thrillers like 'Sholay', 'Zanzeer', 'Deewar', 'Laawaris' and 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar', Rishi Kapoor managed to establish a niche as a 'Lover boy' with films like 'Kabhie Kabhie ', 'Jhootha Kahin ka', 'Karz', 'Khel Khel Main', 'Bol Radha Bol' and 'Chandni'.

In fact, with a volley of films running across various genres like love stories (Bobby, Kabhie Kabhie, Saagar, Chandni and Deewana), comedies ('Rafoo Chakkar', 'Amar Akbar Anthony', 'Jhootha Kahin Ka'), thrillers  ('Karz', 'Khel Khel Main' ) and dramas ('Doosra Aadmi', 'Tawaif, 'Zehreela Insaan'), Rishi Kapoor proved to be a formidable challenge to Amitabh Bachchan in the 70s and 80s.

In fact, in films where the two actors shared the screen ('Amar Akbar Anthony' and 'Naseeb'), Rishi gave the Big B a run for his money.

In fact, industry observers said that if he had a height comparable to Bachchan, he could have proved to be an even tougher challenger to the megastar.

Rishi Kapoor's first on-screen appearance was a cameo at around age three, in the song "Pyar Hua, Iqrar Hua Hai" in his father Raj Kapoor's Shree 420.Rishi made his debut role in his father Raj Kapoor's 1970 film 'Mera Naam Joker'.Later, he made his debut as lead actor with 'Bobby',directed by his father Raj Kapoor.

Rishi Kapoor went on to play the romantic lead in 92 films between 1973 and 2000.

 Some of his notable films during this period were Khel Khel Mein (1975), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Karz (1980), and Chandni (1989).

Besides love stories, he starred in several light-hearted comedies in the 1970s-Rafoo Chakkar (1975) with Neetu Singh, Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) with Amitabh Bachchan, and Khel Khel Mein (1975) and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977) with Zeenat Aman.

He worked with Neetu Singh, who he married in 1980, for the first time in Zahreela Insaan (1974); the couple went on to share the screen in multiple projects including Kabhi Kabhi (1976) and Doosra Aadmi (1976).

In the later stage of his career , Rishi Kapoor made a seamless transformation to character ro,es, essaying a wide variety if characters in films like 'Do Dooni Char', 'Agneepath''102 not out', 'Hum Tum'','Love Aaj kal', 'Mulk' and 'Kapoor and Sons'.

In fact, trade observers said that due to the versatility of roles essayed by Rishi Kapoor in the 90s and the new millennium, he was a much in demand among filmmakers.He won several awards for his performances. He received the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his debut role in his father Raj Kapoor's 1970 film 'Mera Naam Joker'.

 His first lead role as an adult, opposite Dimple Kapadia, in the teen romance Bobby  won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. For his performance in Do Dooni Chaar (2010), he won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, and for his role in Kapoor & Sons (2016), he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

 His final film appearance was in The Body (2019).

In 2019, his two films were released 'Jhootha Kahin Ka', a comedy-drama film directed by Smeep Kang and The Body with Emraan Hashmi, a mystery thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph, which was released on  December 13, 2019. 'The Body' was his last release.

Born Rishi Raj Kapoor, in Chembur, Bombay, in a Punjabi Hindu family, Rishi Kapoor was the second son of actor-director Raj Kapoor and his wife Krishna Raj Kapoor .

He was the grandson of actor Prithviraj Kapoor. His brothers, Randhir Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor, maternal uncles, Prem Nath, Rajendra Nath, Narendra Nath and Prem Chopra, and paternal uncles, Shashi Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor, were all actors.He had two sisters, insurance agent Ritu Nanda and late Rima Jain.He married Neetu Singh in 1980 and has two children Ranbir kapoor and Ridhima kapoor.Rishi Kapoor's death came after a long battle with cancer.

In 2018, Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer, following which the actor was in New York for more than a year to receive treatment. He returned to India in September 2019 after recovering.After returning to India, Kapoor had been in poor health condition.He had been hospitalised in New Delhi in early February, while on a visit to New Delhi.(UNI)