In a moving tribute to Rishi Kapoor, filmmaker Karan Johar recollects how he grew up watching the actor's films, wearing sweaters like Mr Kapoor did and dancing in his bedroom, playing the "dafli" on a plate at the dinner table and generally acting like a true fan. KJo was seven when he threw a tantrum about not being allowed to watch a Rishi Kapoor film on a school night, then almost passed out when he actually met Mr Kapoor on the set of his father Yash Johar's film Duniya; decades later, he shed a silent tear while directing Mr Kapoor in Student Of The Year. Rishi Kapoor died after a long battle with cancer on Thursday. He was 67. "A piece of my growing years has been snatched away," writes Karan Johar, "Dard-e-dil."
Read his tribute here:
For those who don't know - if there are any who don't - Dard-E-Dil belongs to the soundtrack of one of Rishi Kapoor's best-known and best-loved films, 1980's reincarnation and revenge-themed Karz, co-starring Tina Munim.
Karan Johar's first reaction to Rishi Kapoor's death was this tweet - "He was my childhood." He didn't even need to name Mr Kapoor.
He was my childhood.....
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) April 30, 2020
Rishi Kapoor, beloved star of films like Amar Akbar Anthony, Kabhi Kabhie, Chandni and, of course, Karz, was diagnosed with cancer nearly two years ago. He was treated in New York, where he spent just under a year, flying home to Mumbai last September. Mr Kapoor was last seen in 2019 film The Body and had signed up to star opposite Deepika Padukone in a Bollywood adaptation of the Anne Hathaway-Robert De Niro hit The Intern.
Rishi Kapoor is survived by wife Neetu, son Ranbir, daughter Riddhima and the vast Kapoor clan. "He would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears," the family said in a statement released after his death.
