Not only were Rishi Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor co-stars in Zoya Akhtar’s 2009 movie Luck By Chance, the two Kapoors were also distantly related. Sanjay, who met the late actor in November last year for the last time, has fond memories of growing up in Rishi’s sprawling Chembur bungalow, as he and Rajeev Kapoor (Chimpu), Rishi’s younger brother were the best of friends. The actor shared some nuggets of those memories and remembers ‘Chintu’, the name Rishi Kapoor was fondly known by.
It would be fair to say that I have spent my entire childhood in the Kapoor’s house in Chembur. We are far off relatives and both our families lived in Chembur. Chimpu and me, being the youngest, were the best of friends. Like everybody knows, Chintu was a big bully right from the beginning (laughs). So, when Reema, his sister was being bullied, so was I. He would open the door to me with a ‘what the hell is happening?’ expression on his face. I remember when he had become a big star, he had bought these really fancy speakers and we were petrified to touch it because if he had known, he would have killed us! He was very fond of these things. But as I grew up, I realized this bully persona was just a front. And it was when I worked with him in Luck By Chance, that I really came to know what an extremely warm and loving person he is.
I remember the first day of the shoot. It was supposed to be shot between Chintu, Juhi Chawla and I. A day prior it, I got a message informing me that the shoot begins at 7 am and we all have to reach by 6 am. I am not a morning person but when I saw that nobody is complaining, I didn’t say anything. Within an hour, I got another message that the shoot has been postponed to 9 am. The building we were shooting in had a narrow lane, so there were not enough vanity vans. Chintu and I were given a room to share in the building. We were talking and I remember telling him I was so relieved that the shoot was postponed. He said he had got a call about the 6 am call time and responded with ‘main koi doodhwala hoon jo chhe baje aaoonga!’ (laughs) They had to change the time because of him.
While shooting with Rishi Kapoor, I realized how much effort he puts into the character. He was playing this very filmi producer, with pink shirts and rings. He was so particular about them. People don’t realize the small things an actor does to build up his character.
I visited him in New York last year in June, where he was getting treated for cancer. We were talking about films among other things and we had a good time. He had recovered fantastically. In August, I was back in Mumbai and my film Mission Mangal had released. I received such a sweet and heart-warming message from him saying that he saw the film and he thought I was really good in it. I was so touched. He had seen the film and taken the effort to message me. It wasn’t so much about the praise but just the fact that he did that for me, was so heart-warming.
Even when he returned, his energy was infectious. The last time I met him was in November at Diwali time. He was so eager to get back to work. There was so much left in him to give to the cinema. The media uses the term ‘second innings’ and in his case, that transition from lead roles to character roles was so smooth. He is probably the only actor whose character roles are as memorable as his lead roles. When you think of Agneepath, you think of his dark role as Rauf Lala, or in Kapoor & Sons as the grandfather. He created these roles with his performance. As a family member, we will miss his company but people who don’t know him will miss him as an actor. It’s true, he was too young to die. It’s a big loss for all who love watching movies.
One of the advantages of being an actor is that you live on in everyone’s memories. You will watch their movies, laugh and cry with them. They live on.
Words By Deepali Singh
The post Rishi Kapoor had so much more to give to cinema: Sanjay Kapoor appeared first on TMM.