Main hoon Akbar Illahbadi !

30^th April 2020 -  Rishi Kapoor passes away during the Corona Lockdown !

Modesty was his motto. Acting came naturally !

Can you think of any single role of Rishi (Chintu) Kapoor when you thought he was a miscast ? There isn’t even one as an exception that I remember. Such great was this actor. We as audience took his acting to be up to the mark as a given. He was one of those fine actors who surpassed the level of judgement and were an asset to the filmmakers as well as to the viewers.

He was the third generation of the Kapoor family and he almost sealed the fact that acting was in their blood. I and most belonging to my generation have witnessed Rishi Kapoor’s entire career. In fact we must have begun our conscious movie watching tenure with Bobby. I remember memorising “Main shayar to nahi ….” But it was Akbar Illahbadi from the legendary Amar Akbar Anthony who won a place in our hearts. The song “Parda hai parda hai is till date by heart like a nursery poem. 

Well the girls and the boys liked him independently. There was no debate on why he has to be liked in any particular way.

In interviews he often attributed his success to the song numbers he got to play in the films. He also acknowledged the fact that he has always played the chocolate lover boy image which bred liking and affection. But well remember all this was happening when the angry young man, the Bachchan was roaring and ripping right through us at the same time. It must not have been easy for Chintu to prove and establish himself as a sure shot success material especially being accused of nepotism …(he was Raj Kapoor’s son). He never failed to mention that he had learned a lot form his father who he called as an institution.

Lets as a tribute take a moment and recollect some of his songs to see how he has ruled our hearts sometime with his nimble feet  …

Main shayar to nahi – Bobby

Na mangu son chandi – Bobby

Ek main aur ek tu  - Khel khel mein

Khullam Khulla pyaar karenge – Khel khel mein

Tere chehere se nazar nahi – Kabhi kabhi

O hansini – Zahreela Insaan

Shirdi wale sai baba – AAA

Parda hai parda hai – AAA

Dar-e-dil dard-e jigar – Karz

Ramji ki nikali sawari - Sargam

Chal kahi door – Doosra Aadmi

Meri kismet mein tu nahi – Premrog

Bachna ai haseeno – Hum Kisise Kum Nahi

Jabse tumko dekha hai - Damini

I loved his modesty when he said in an interview that it was only while his career ended people had begun liking love stories. He candidly said I was getting fatter and older and he had returned the four signing amounts when he declared his retirement. He also said that he was enjoying his character roles now and was challenging himself to do out of typecast roles like the ones which we saw in Agneepath and in Mulk. More recently he never hesitated to speak out his mind in the social media against morally wrong ideas or actions.

Well whenever you heard him speak you realised he was down to earth amidst all the bestowing which made him so kind that one could imagine him to be a friend you could not only relate to but also imagine having him accompany you & your friends one of the evenings.

I think that is the biggest tribute for a superstar actor from a common fan like me.

Please you may write your tribute as well as comments.  
You may check the post on Vinod Khanna 
https://maxreach.blogspot.com/2018/10/inspector-amar-rahe.html
Also free to check older posts. 
Thank you.