In his tribute to Rishi 'James' Kapoor, actor Anil 'Patton' Kapoor wrote, "Nothing will be the same without you but I will celebrate your life like you wanted us to." James and Patton are the nicknames by which the childhood companions and later co-stars called each other - more on that below. Rishi Kapoor, 67, died on Thursday after a two-year battle with cancer. In his tribute post, Anil Kapoor shared an image of the Kapoors as young boys drinking Coca Cola - the picture was originally tweeted by Rishi Kapoor last year and features Rishi and Anil as well as Anil's older brother Boney, Rishi's cousin Aditya Raj and producer Tutu Sharma.
"My dear James," wrote Anil Kapoor, 63, "I don't know where to begin. From growing up to living our dreams on screen, we were together through it all. You were like an elder brother to me, a shoulder when I needed the support, a mentor when I needed that push and a friend always. Thank you for the endless love you gave my family and me. You were like a son to my mother and you knew that Krishna aunty was always like a mother to me." He signed off, "Your Patton forever."
Read Anil Kapoor's post here:
— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) April 30, 2020
In a tweet shared after his memorial post, Anil Kapoor revealed the origin of his nickname for Rishi Kapoor. "The reason I called Rishi Kapoor James was because according to me is there was anyone who looked as good as James Dean, it was him."
The reason I called Rishi Kapoor James was because according to me if there was anyone who looked as good as James Dean it was him...and he loved hearing that from me...he will always be James for me... pic.twitter.com/HrU3ZQbx3G
— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) April 30, 2020
The photo of the young Kapoors drinking colas was posted by Rishi Kapoor last November:
Original "Coca Cola" advertisement. Boney Kapoor,Aditya Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor,Tutu Sharma and that cute brat Anil Kapoor( photo courtesy Khalid Mohammed) pic.twitter.com/RXIEUxCAlp
— Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) November 13, 2019
This was when they revealed they called each other James and Patton:
Thank you Patton! For those who may not know why we address each other "Patton"and "James"-this goes back to our earlier days in our careers https://t.co/MbeSiZWC2e
— Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) September 4, 2017
Rishi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor, both leading actors of their times, co-starred in films such as 1988's Vijay and 1993's Gurudev. Their careers followed similar trajectories - both began as romantic heroes, graduated to more dramatic roles and only got better with age.
Rishi Kapoor also starred with Anil Kapoor's daughter Sonam in 2009's Delhi 6 and 2014's Bewakoofiyan. Sonam, who made her debut opposite Rishi Kapoor's son Ranbir in Saawariyan, is spending the lockdown and Delhi and wrote regretfully in her tribute post about not being able to say a proper goodbye.
Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and flew to New York for treatment. He returned to Mumbai last September after having spent nearly a year in the US.
After his death on Thursday, the Kapoors said in a statement that the actor "would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears." Anil Kapoor says he will be doing just that.
Rishi Kapoor's last releases were 2019 film The Body and Jhootha Kahin Ka. He was meant to have worked with Deepika Padukone in a Bollywood adaptation of The Intern.
