Rishi Kapoor, fondly called Chintu, passed away on Thursday, leaving a sea of people in tears; he was the third-generation cine star of the celebrated Kapoor clan, which, for over 90 years, has been an intrinsic part of the film industry. For many who finished their schooling in the early 1970s and went on to university, he represented the “Bobby era” and came to be regarded as the most entrancing romantic hero succeeding both his uncle, the late Shashi Kapoor and the phenomenal Rajesh Khanna. All this while, Dev Anand remained the evergreen superstar through the 1970s, even though Amitabh Bachchan consolidated his place as the topmost actor.
Chintu’s distinctive sojourn in films began when his father, Raj Kapoor cast him in the first part of his magnum opus, Mera Naam Joker, alongside Simi Grewal and Manoj Kumar. This segment of the film won not only critical acclaim but could be compared to any international movie of that period. The first portion had shades of Summer of 42 and the superlative performance by Chintu, then a teenager, caught on full canvas, foretold that a future star had made a stunning debut in the world of celluloid.
Although the movie, which was obviously far ahead of its times, flopped at the box office, consequently putting Raj Kapoor in huge debt, Chintu was honoured with a National Award for his performance extraordinaire. When he dashed off to show the citation to his father, Raj asked him to first take it to his grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor. His Dada had tears in his eyes when he viewed the award, and told young Chintu, who in all probability, at that point of time, could not comprehend, the essence of what he emotionally expressed: that this distinction had heralded the third generation of the family into the world of cinema and Raj had repaid him manifold by grooming his grandson.
Another story related to this saga of Mera Naam Joker is that when Shankar Jaikishen composed the music for the song, “Teetar Ke Doh Aage Teetar….”, the question arose, as to who would do the playback singing for the debutant. Asha Bhonsle was to sing for Simi Grewal, but a fresh voice yet had to be found for the newcomer. Mukesh—who Raj Kapoor had officially proclaimed as his prime playback singer—wanted his son, Nitin Mukesh to make his launch along with Chintu. However, Shankar of the SJ duo disapproved of the proposal. Ultimately it was Mukesh who sang for Chintu.
The matter did not end there; Mukesh held on to this grudge against Shankar and in September, 1971, when Jaikishen passed away, he introduced Raj Kapoor to Laxmikant Pyarelal, strongly recommending that the duo should be engaged for the music of Bobby. However, it was a different story that LP did not endorse Nitin, and therefore, Raj Kapoor, after a talent hunt, zeroed in on Shailendra Singh, as the playback singer for Rishi. Shailendra lent his voice to all of Rishi Kapoor songs in the movie, as also many more, post the release of Bobby.
However, clearly, he could not cope with the politics of the film industry, thus fading into oblivion. Rishi Kapoor was at ease both with Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi. Again, it is another matter, that the music of Bobby was stylistically influenced by what had come to be known as the SJ genre. Bobby made history after its release, creating a sensation like no movie had done for a long, long time. The original distributors of most Raj Kapoor films, had suffered huge losses after both Mera Naam Joker and Kal, Aaj aur Kal, the movie that launched his elder son, Randhir Kapoor, crashed at the box office. No wonder they declined to distribute Bobby and Raj Kapoor turned to his younger brother, Shashi Kapoor to take over the rights and distribute the film. As is more than well-known, the movie made up for the previous losses incurred, buoying the RK banner to its original glory.
The highlight of Bobby was that Raj Kapoor had screened many real-life incidents that were portrayed by Rishi and Dimple Kapadia—who, for many, bore a close resemblance with Nargis, the iconic heroine of the maximum number of movies made under the RK emblem. Once on celluloid, the pairing of Chintu and Dimple rekindled the old romance for cine-goers, who readily engaged with the new-age film. Interestingly, the thespian promoted the Rajdoot GTS motorcycle on which the young couple made good their escape. Thereafter, the bike was in high demand, its sales hitting the ceiling. It was not a coincidence, that it was manufactured by the Escorts Group; Raj Kapoor’s eldest daughter, Ritu was married to Rajan Nanda, the owner of this corporate giant.
Rishi Kapoor was proud of his lineage; he was readily the most accomplished actor of his generation and beyond. His versatility was reflected in the kind of roles he did, leaving his indelible imprint on show business. His numero asset—which runs as a common thread—amongst all the Kapoors, is that he could dance with natural fluidity, with little contribution of any choreographer.
Chintu had the good fortune of working alongside all top artistes of his ongoing era. His son, Ranbir and nieces, Karishma and Kareena are household names, with the baton now carried forth by the fourth generation. “Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored” is how he would always be warmly remembered. Between us.