Tribute to Rishi Kapoor
30/4/2020, will never be able to forget this date, as I woke up to the tragic news of Rishi Kapoor’s death. I was in vehement denial for really long time, actually still I am. A man with amazing sense of humor, unsurmountable passion for cinema, unparalleled charisma had left for the heavenly abode. The man was flamboyant, fearless, charismatic and a versatile actor. He played the role of the quintessential lover boy in many of his earlier films and won hearts of millions of people. His films like Bobby, Sagaar, Khel Khel Main, Chandani to name a few were romantic blockbusters. But in his second innings, he portrayed plethora of different roles, Murad Ali muhammad in Mulk, Amarjeet Kapoor in Kapoor and Sons, the menacing Rauf Lala in Agneepath, Babulal in 102 not out to name a few.
He was not only known for his films, but also for his forthright nature. Besides sharing his opinion on films that he saw or was a part of, he also shared his views on current political scenario. He wore his heart on his sleeve. In his autobiography, he has described a lot of incidents in his life, some of them being a tad bit controversial. One of them was his confession of bribing a person for winning an award at the nascent stage of his career. He had his opinion on everything under the sun whether it was government declaring beef ban or the ban on Pakistani artists. Besides possessing charm and wit, he also possessed unsurmountable strength, as he fought his battle with cancer with utmost valour and strength. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and had flown to New York for the treatment. It was reported that he had returned back to India in mid-2019. His fans and well-wishers heaved a sigh of relief when the news of his recovery broke out. After a couple of months, his upcoming film was also announced. It seemed as if legend’s life was back to normal, but who knew that he would be hospitalized again and would die after a couple of days. He has left a void in the Indian Cinema that none of the actors would be able to fill. An actor par excellence, a warrior, an opinionated person who never used to mince his words had left for the heavenly abode.
I am pretty sure that he will light up the heaven with his wry sense of humour and infectious laughter.
