Bollywood’s quintessential dandy

From rocking oversized sunglasses in Bobby (1973) to effortlessly slipping into period costumes of Laila Majnu (1976), to putting blazers on the map in Doosra Aadmi (1977) , actor Rishi Kapoor redefined sartorial finesse in Bollywood. Be it his straight-out-of-school lad attires in Bobby or the charming crossdressing act in Rafoo Chakkar (1975), he ushered in a distinctive style vocabulary for generations. Designer Manish Malhotra shares, “He was my favourite actor. He had an inherent sense of style — be it bell bottoms or oversized sunglasses. For O

Hansini (Zehreela Insaan; 1974), he picked up a pair of black pants from Brussels. Later, he realised they were ladies’ pants. His ivory shirt, pants and waistcoat combo remains epic.”

Designer duo Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla hail him as a ’70s icon. “Bobby established him as a romantic hero...From tight shirts and flared jeans to stylish eye wear. Who can forget Rishi in the green silk kurta and zardozi waistcoat in Parda Hai Parda (Amar Akbar Anthony; 1977)?” they say.

Designer Suneet Varma shares Kapoor was his first crush. “His polka-dot shirt in Bobby became the go-to outfit for every romeo in India. I could still picture him dancing in Karz (1980), it didn’t look like he’d been outfitted for a movie,” he says. Stylist Ami Patel too recollects his disco look in Karz. “Style arbiters will always look up to him as far as the history of Indian fashion is concerned, as cinema is so indelibly linked with fashion,” she says.