Rishi Kapoor Death: Here Are 10 Lesser Known Things About The Original ‘Chocolate Boy’ Of Bollywood

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor who passed away this morning has been charming audiences as a romantic hero for decades. Here are a few things you may not know about him.

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New Delhi: The iconic actor Rishi Kapoor who was dubbed as ‘the chocolate boy’ has been charming audiences for decades. Sadly, the veteran actor died this morning in Mumbai. He was admitted in Shri HN Reliance Foundation hospital on Wednesday and was earlier diagnosed with cancer. Belonging to the legendary Kapoor family of Bollywood, Rishi Kapoor may have had an easy entry to the film career, but the actor worked hard to create his niche. Here are some little-known things to know about life and work

• Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh became good friends after they worked together in the film Zahreela Insaan (1974). But Kapoor realised that their relationship was beyond that when during an outstation shoot he started missing her. According to news reports, he sent her a telegram saying “yeh sikhni badi yaad aati hai”. The couple married in 1980 and had two children actor Ranbir Kapoor and designer Ridhima Kapoor. Kapoor had a fraught relationship with his son in the early days. Ranbir confessed that once his father had slapped him for wearing shoes in the pooja area at home.
• Rishi Kapoor debuted as the romantic hero in the 1973 film Bobby. The superhit film brought many changes in pop culture and filmmaking. Not only did Kapoor's and Kapadia's fashion replicated by people, it also introduced new techniques in cinema.  According to reports the film changed the way lip-syncing was done for songs. Director Raj Kapoor had instructed Rishi Kapoor to sing all the songs loudly instead of just enacting them. This created a sense of realism in song sequences with the visible popping of veins and made it seem as if Kapoor was really singing it.
•  The iconic scene from Bobby where Rishi Kapoor rides with Dimple Kapadia in pillion on a Royal Enfield was recreated for his film All Is Well(2015) in which he rode an Enfiled with Supriya Pathak who played his wife in the film.
• Kapoor played his father's younger self in the famous film Mera Naam Joker
• In 2017, Kapoor’s autobiography Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored, super-high was launched.In the book, he confessed to many secrets such as the fact that his father Raj Kapoor had affairs with leading ladies and that he may have been responsible for Rajesh Khanna losing a role in the film Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
• In 2018 Kapoor was trolled online after a fan shared a gif from the film Kaun Saacha Kaun Jhoota and the actor was unable to recognise his leading lady who happened to be Sridevi. After the gif was shared the actor replied “What film is this? And I cannot recognise the actress
• Amongst his many memorable films is Chandni. This film was important because it led Sridevi to stardom and also helped to give a fresh lease of life to Yash Chopra’s career after a string of flops. Anil Kappor was also considered for the film but he refused because he did not want to sit in a wheelchair.
• Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and returned to India last September after a year-long treatment in New York.
• While visiting New York for his treatment Rishi Kapoor met a Russian fan at a salon who recognized him and played he actor's popular song "Main shayar toh nahin" from the 1973 film Bobby. The actor tweeted about the incident My anthem played in a salon whilst getting a hair cut. Russian recognized me and played it from his notebook. Thank you Sergie.
• Just two days before Kapoor's death, Karan Johar paid a tribute to the veteran actor on social media by sharing a video in which he made an edited version of the song Main Shayar To Nahin using face mapping. The clip shows Karan's face mapped on to Rishi's, while the filmmaker happily lip-syncs to the track.

Also Watch: Rishi Kapoor's demise coverage