CHOCOLATE BOY ‘HERO’ TO VILLAIN
It’s not until you’re told it’s Rishi Kapoor in the frame that you begin to seek him out towards the end of the popular Shree 420 song, Pyaar Hua, Iqraar Hua. The song concludes with ‘Main na rahoongi, tum na rahoge, phir bhi rahengi nishaniyan’ and pans towards all three Kapoor children — symbolising the larger legacy the Kapoors would build as the first family of Bollywood. Today, one of the scions is no more. To many millennials, Rishi Kapoor is either Ranbir Kapoor’s father or Kareena Kapoor Khan’s uncle. To the fraternity and millions of fans worldwide, he is an actor who held his own for five decades, a feat few have managed.
Fifteen years after that blinkand-you-miss appearance, he reappeared in Mera Naam Joker as a precocious teenager coming to terms with his attraction towards his teacher. Mera Naam Joker did not do well at the box office. In fact, years later, Rishi Kapoor would even joke that Bobby was made to repay debts incurred during the making of Mera Naam Joker. But a young Rishi in the film had already made his audience take note of him, exuding a vulnerability and coyness that wouldn’t typically be spotted on the big screen. His 1973 full-fledged debut Bobby offered fewer surprises with a conventional love story at the heart of the plot. While the film catapulted him and co-star Dimple Kapadia into popular imagination, it also set a template for the actor from which he could rarely break away. Be it Rafoo Chakkar, Kabhi Kabhie, Khel Khel Mein, Amar Akbar Anthony, Prem Rogh or Naseeb, he nearly patented the role of a charming and happygo-lucky lead man. The audiences loved him in these roles, which meant the template carried well into the late 80s and 90s with Henna,
Chandni, Bol Radha Bol, etc. Films like Subhash Ghai’s Karz, a reincarnation drama, were an aberration. As he said in a recent interview, “I have spent 25 years in the film industry as a romantic hero, but I never got the chance to do roles like what the younger generation is doing… In 1973, the audiences would never accept films like Vicky Donor or Bala.”
The 2000s, however, were a different ball game. Even mainstream Hindi films did not take it upon themselves to offer their audiences an ‘escape’ to a parallel world; rather, they mirrored the world as it was. The changing landscape of Bollywood gave Rishi Kapoor a platform to showcase his versatility. His range can be best understood from three of his recent films, for which he was widely applauded. As the helpless filmmaker in Luck By Chance, he showcased his impeccable comic timing. As Rauf Lala in the remake of Agneepath, he evoked fear. As the patriarch of a Muslim family in Mulk, he effortlessly conveyed angst. That the actor in him had truly begun to enjoy his craft was evident.
If his career took another turn lately, a more interesting side to Rishi Kapoor also came to the fore through Twitter. He wasn’t apologetic of his political incorrectness; rather, he celebrated it. So active was he on social media that it was his absence from the platform that made fans sit back and wonder what had happened to him when he was seeking treatment for cancer in America. Today, the actor may be no more, but his characteristic wit and candour will remain etched in our hearts.