Rishi Kapoor was an Indian actor, director and producer. He won many awards for his best performance in Indian cinema.
Rishi Kapoor has acted in twelve films with his wife Neetu Kapoor. Kapoor passed away on April 30, 2020, at the age of 67, after battling cancer for a year.
His illustrious acting career tells us his stature in the film industry. Rishi, who started his career with the film ‘Bobby’ in 1973, acted in more than 150 films. He is considered one of the longest chocolate faced heroes in Bollywood.
Rishi Kapoor Biography & Wiki
| Rishi Kapoor Full Name | Rishi Raj Kapoor |
| Nick Name | Chintoo |
| Profession | Actor, |
| Debut Movie | Child Artist– Mera Naam Joker (1970) Actor– Bobby (1973) Director– Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) |
| Rishi Kapoor Last Movies | Sharma Ji Namkeen ( 2022 ) |
| Physical Stat | |
| Rishi Kapoor Height | In Centimeter- 173 cm In Meter- 1.73 m In Feet- 5’8” |
| Weight | In Kilogram- 90 kg In Pound- 198 lbs |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Personal Life | |
| Date Of Birth | 4 September 1952 (Thursday) |
| Birthplace | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Rishi Kapoor Age (At The time Of Death) | 67 Years |
| Date Of Death | 30 April 2020 (Thursday) (8:45 AM) |
| Place Of Death | Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai |
| Death Cause | Leukaemia |
| Zodiac Sign/Sun Sign | Vigro |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Home town | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| School | Mayo College, Ajmer Campion School, Mumbai |
| Educational Qualification | 8th Fail |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Punjabi Khatri |
| Food Habit | Non-vegetarian |
| Family Member(s) | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Girlfriend | Yasmin (Actress) Dimple Kapadia (Actress) Neetu Singh (Actress) |
| Rishi Kapoor Wife | Neetu Singh |
| Marriage Date | 22 January 1980 |
| Children | Son– Ranbir Kapoor Daughter– Riddhima Kapoor Sahini (Designer) |
| Parents | Father– Raj Kapoor (Actor, Filmmaker) Mother– Krishna Kapoor (Homemaker) |
| Sibling | Brother– Randhir Kapoor (Actor), Rajiv Kapoor (Actor) Sister– Ritu Nanda, Rima Jain |
| Favourite Things | |
| Hobbies | Collecting Sweaters |
| Food | Yakhni Pulao, Khatti Dal, Fish Fry, Paya |
| Cuisine | Chinese |
| Beverage | Black Label Whisky |
| Income | |
| Rishi Kapoor Net Worth (at the time of death) | 40 Million USD |
Birth & Early Life
Rishi was born as Rishi Raj Kapoor in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 4 September 1952 to Raj Kapoor and Krishna Raj Kapoor. Rishi Kapoor was born in a Punjabi family and was the second son of actor-director Raj Kapoor.
Rishi was nicknamed “Chintu” by his elder brother Randhir Kapoor, he was very fond of acting since childhood and used to cry and laugh in front of the mirror.
Rishi Kapoor belonged to the famous Kapoor family of Bollywood. Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni Mehra were Rishi Kapoor’s grandparents. He had two brothers, Randhir Kapoor (actor) and Rajiv Kapoor (film producer), and two sisters, Ritu Nanda and Reema Jain.
Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor were his uncles, and Nandi, Devi and Urmila Syal were his aunts.
Famous bollywood actresses; Kareena Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor are his nieces. Nikhil Nanda (Businessman), Aadhar Jain (Actor), and Armaan Jain (Actor) are his nephews.
Education
He attended Campion School, Mumbai and Mayo College, Ajmer for his schooling. Rishi was not good at studies, and he failed in 8th standard;
Personal Life
Rishi dated actress Yasmin in his teens and broke up with her. Rishi Kapoor also dated actress Dimple Kapadia but after his father’s refusal, he ended his relationship with her.
Rishi fell in love with his co-actress Neetu Singh during the shooting of ‘Bobby’ Rishi married Neetu Singh on 22 January 1980 after a courtship of five years.
Reportedly, Rishi and Neetu got engaged to each other secretly when they had gone to attend a friend’s wedding.
On 15 September 1980, their first child, Riddhima Kapoor was born, and their second child, Ranbir Kapoor (actor) was born on 28 September 1982.
His daughter, Riddhima Kapoor is a designer and married Bharat Sahni, who is a designer, in 2006. businessman, and the couple has two children.
Rishi Kapoor Career
- Rishi Kapoor’s first film role was in his father’s film Shree 420. Rishi can be seen walking in the rain with two other kids in the song ‘Pyaar Hua, Ikraar Hua’ from Shree 420.
- In 1970, Rishi Kapoor debuted in his father Raj Kapoor’s film Mera Naam Joker, where he played the childhood role of his own father. In 1973, he had his first lead role opposite Dimple Kapadia in the film ‘Bobby’ and became an instant hit among the youth.
- From 1974-1997, Rishi Kapoor did films with solo leads and only 11 films did well at the box office while another 40 films were flops. There were 11 hit films – Bobby, Laila Majnu, Rafu Chakkar, Sargam, Karz, Prem Rog, Nagina, Honeymoon, Banjaran, Heena and Bol Radha Bol.
- From 1974-1981, Rishi Kapoor paired up with his would-be wife Neetu Kapoor, but the pair didn’t spell magic. Only multi-starter films with Neetu Kapoor became hits- Khel Khel Mein, Kabhie Kabhie, Amar Akbar Anthony, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Duniya Meri Pocket Mein.
- The films which had Rishi Kapoor in the lead role along with Neetu Kapoor were flops – Zehreela Insaan, Zinda Dil, Second Aadmi, Anjaane Mein, Jhootha Kahin Ka, Dhan Daulat.
- From 1977-1994, Rishi Kapoor was offered the role of younger brothers in multi-starrer films. From 1976-2000, Rishi Kapoor starred in 41 multi-starrer films and was cast as the second or third main protagonist. Of these, 25 films were hits and 16 were flops at the box office.
- Rishi Kapoor’s films Deewana, Damini and Eena Meena Dika were successful in the 90s. Kapoor had lead hero roles several times in two leading hero films- Hum Kisise Se Kum Nahi, Badalte Rishtey, Aap Ke Deewane, Sagar, then again in the 90s with Chandni, Deewana (1992), Damini (1993) and Gurudev ( 1994).
- In 1999, Rishi Kapoor directed the film Aa Ab Laut Chalen. In 2000, he made his last romantic lead in the film ‘Karobaar: The Business of Love’, which was a flop. After several box office flops as the lead, Rishi Kapoor went on to do supporting roles in the 2000s.
- Rishi Kapoor also acted in British films- Don’t Stop Dreaming and Sambhar Salsa. In 2010, Kapoor teamed up with Neetu Kapoor in the film Do Dooni Chaar. He also acted in a movie Chintu Ji where he played the role of himself.
- In 2012, Rishi Kapoor appeared as a villain in Agneepath and for the first time in the multi-star Housefull with his brother Randhir Kapoor.
- In an interview in 2012, Rishi Kapoor had said, ‘I landed in Bobby by default. There was a misconception that the film was made to launch me as an actor. The film was actually made to pay off the debt of Mera Naam Joker. Dad wanted to make a love story and had no money to cast superstar Rajesh Khanna in the film. So the story was turned into a teenage love story and I was cast.
- In 2018, Rishi Kapoor starred in the film ‘102 Not Out’ opposite Amitabh Bachchan after 27 years. In 2019, Rishi Kapoor was seen in two films- Jhootha Kahin Ka and The Body. These were his two films which were released before his death on April 30, 2020.
- Rishi Kapoor was shooting for ‘Sharmaji Namkeen’ before his death. Which will be released on 31 March 2022 on Amazon Prime Video.
Rishi Kapoor Controversies
- In 2016, he criticized the Indian National Congress for naming public properties after the Gandhi dynasty through a tweet, and in retaliation, Congress supporters named a public toilet after Rishi Kapoor.
- In 2016, Rishi again courted controversy at the wedding of actress Asin and Rahul Sharma. Reportedly, Rishi was annoyed by the loud music and lights at a party at the wedding venue. There Rahul Sharma had to intervene. The party lasted only an hour after Rishi left.
Some Facts About Rishi Kapoor
- In an interview, he revealed that earlier, he used to be a chain smoker; However, when his daughter complained to him about it, he dropped it.
- Rishi Kapoor was known for his drinking habit, and was often seen enjoying alcoholic drinks on various occasions.
- He was the only actor in the Kapoor family to have acted under the direction of his father Raj Kapoor and brothers, Randhir Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor.
- In his debut film Bobby, there is a scene in which Rishi meets Dimple at her house at night, which was inspired by the real life meeting of Raj Kapoor and Nargis.
- Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan both made their appearances in the film industry in the same year 1973 – with Rishi Kapoor in “Bobby,” and Amitabh with “Zanjeer”.
- The pairing of Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan has given many commercially successful films such as Amar Akbar Anthony and Naseeb, and when the pair appeared in the 2018 Bollywood film “102 Not Out”, it was after a gap of 27 years in films. He had a reunion. ,
- In the film, Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Rishi (character Akbar Allahabadi) calls Neetu by her real name “Neetu” in the first scene. He was called by this name throughout the film.
- Initially Neetu used to tease Rishi Kapoor, but once Neetu went abroad to shoot for her film and when she returned Rishi went to her and said that she was missing her. Neetu also remembered Rishi. They fell in love and got married in 1980.
- He went into depression for some time when his film Karz proved to be a big flop.
- Rishi is considered the original ‘Prince of Romance’ in Bollywood.
- She is also very popular in Nigeria, and people in Nigeria have nicknamed her “Mace”, which means woman.
- His last film as a romantic actor was Karobar: The Business of Love (2000).
- Reportedly, more than 20 Bollywood actresses made their debut with him.
- Before Ranbir Kapoor’s “Towel Drop” act in his debut film Saawariya (2007), Rishi did a similar act in his debut film “Bobby” (1973).
- Rishi Kapoor was known for his active engagement on various social media platforms. Initially, he was not interested in social media, but Anushka Sharma and Abhishek Bachchan convinced him to join Twitter.
- On 15 January 2017, he released his autobiography, “Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored”, in which he revealed that he paid Rs 30,000 to get the Best Actor award for his role in his debut film ‘Bobby’.
Rishi Kapoor Death
- In 2018, Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. He went to New York for his treatment and returned a year later in 2019.
- On April 29, 2020, Rishi Kapoor was having difficulty in breathing and was taken to Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai. He passed away on April 30, 2020 at the age of 67 after an alleged cancer survivor.