Actor Rishi Kapoor talks about his autobiography and shares a few thoughts with Ankita Jain and Jigyasu Joshi
As we wait to meet Rishi Kapoor to talk about his new book, Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored, we are warned about his temperament. “Don’t court controversy, he might get cranky.” But he is genial when he walks in, though not quite Khullam Khulla, the title of his autobiography named after the hit song that he had with Neetu Singh, his co-star of many films, wife and perhaps his truest buddy. He makes a comment on our being young. “No more do I see the old folks in journalism. All young guns,” he declares with typical Kapoor flamboyance. “But then I want my book to be read by youth,” he says, settling in. The book, though not exactly fiery, still has its insider revelations, like examples of his father’s creative genius, something that sparked his love affairs with leading ladies, the great Prithviraj Kapoor’s value scales, his own uneasiness with Amitabh Bachchan, whisky tales, the grit and heart of family members, his own possessiveness and insecurities and his rather convivial way of getting around them in the end.
From entering the industry as the son of superstar Raj Kapoor, being typecast as Bollywood’s lover boy, struggling with failure and depression, playing second fiddle romantic to the action hero, to his second innings in the Hindi film industry, the veteran actor recounts his over four-decade-long journey. Excerpts from the interview:
Why did you decide to write the book of memoirs now. Can we say you are finally satisfied as an actor to look back with contentIJ
No, nothing of that sort. First of all, none of the Kapoors has ever documented his/her life. A lot of books have been written about my grandfather, father and uncle but it was never a first person interview. So, I thought of becoming the first Kapoor to do so. There comes a time in life when you want to talk about yourself. There wasn’t any pressure from any of the publications asking me to write my memoirs. I felt that it was quite important also to share my journey with the youth today. I believe, my book is quite inspirational for the youth in a very different way. My definition of struggle is different. People say I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Yes, I agree but what’s my fault in itIJ I may have not slept on pavements or gone hungry and had a huge hit in Bobby, but my struggles were against the angry young man and the action image, against formula and surviving without being able to showcase my whole range. I think young people today can relate to this feeling of not being heard or allowed to.
Also, when I started my second innings as an actor, one where I have been offered a variety of roles, Rakesh Roshan (my friend of many years) called me and said, ‘listen I have a role for you and it’s a two-day part. I just want you to play Hrithik’s father in a film called Krissh’ or whatever he was making. I said, ‘No I don’t think so. It will be a wrong move in my career.’ Suddenly he started laughing and asked me what kind of career was I looking at. Those words hit me. Then I vowed to prove it to him that you can also work and be a success with age. I owe my second innings to Rakesh Roshan.
Though you have grown up within the film milieu, and said you fell back on the ‘family business’ because of a lack of finishing your degrees, when did you realise you loved actingIJ Had success not come to you as an actor, would you have continued considering you dealt with depression when films like Karz did not do wellIJ
As I have mentioned in the book, perhaps I always wanted to be in a film. I would cry when my mother slapped me but still go and see myself in the mirror to understand how I looked. Shashi uncle always said I was born to be an actor. Ever since I was two years old, I’ve been in the limelight. That has got to have an effect. I did a cameo in my father’s film, Shree 420 (1955), and I was throwing star tantrums even then. I couldn’t keep my eyes open because of the rain and I used to cry. So the only way they got me to do the shot was by getting Nargisji to bribing me with a chocolate bar to keep my eyes open and complete the shot.
I have been born and brought up in an ambience where all my family members, whether maternal or paternal, co-habit in the universe of Kapoors. There wasn’t any nepotism. I didn’t survive as an actor all this time because I was Raj Kapoor’s son. Ranbir is not surviving because he is my son. We all have got our merits to be ourselves. There are a lot of star sons and daughters who never clicked. You can bring a horse to the water to drink it but you cannot make it drink forcefully.
My book is very inspirational to the youth to encounter certain things in life which we are not ready for. Remember, I came with a romantic film and the same year, there came a storm called Amitabh Bachchan as the angry young man in Zanjeer and he changed the whole scenario. I was actually thrown into choppy waters and I had to keep my head above to survive. Nobody wanted to watch a romantic film. I was struggling all my life after that. All of my 25 years no less, I have always battled and faced these kinds of heroes. My depression was a psychological disorder I went through. I had just married and lost my popularity. My family bore the brunt of my frustration.
Do you think your spontaneous methods and instinctive approach were ahead of your timeIJ
I believe theatre actors like Balraj Sahni and Motilal were far more spontaneous, natural and organic. And they came much much before me. Certain mimics say, ‘We can mime most of the actors but we cannot mime Rishi Kapoor because he doesn't have a style.’ I am a natural actor and this is my forte. Today every actor is trying to do the same. Very few are stylised. I think this method worked at one time, limited to the 60s and the 70s, but is quite irritating now.
Actors today are very professional. They are all very updated and have so much exposure. Today when I see a six-year-old kid, there is a whole lot of difference from what I was at that age. They are well-informed and look after their bodies. They have learned all emotions. Whereas in my grandfather’s (Prithviraj Kapoor) time, everything was learned by experience. Today’s kids are instant noodles. They are well-prepared, they know their lives and are very professional and punctual.
You have talked about dealing with insecurities or how you got off the wrong foot with peers like Amitabh Bachchan and was compelled to go on the back foot with the arrival of new actors on the horizon.....how did you hold your ownIJ
My determination, my forthrightness and my sincerity to do whatever I was doing. By God’s grace, I came up when I went down. Of course, there were failures too but that was an era which was completely action genre-driven. It was a time when a lot of young boys and newcomers didn’t survive. Maybe there was some luck too. But due to my sincerity and determination, I kept going.
When I was young, I could do only romantic films, I could not do action and action guys couldn’t do romantic. I always feel I was the right person at the wrong time. My career started in the action era and after 25 years of my career, came the romantic time. I should have been born in this era. I am in the second innings of my career. The first half I was singing and dancing and in the second half, I am happy that I have characters to pull it off.
What lesson would you like to give and take from Ranbir KapoorIJ
I am not that friendly with Ranbir. I am old school, not the type of guy who will ask him (Ranbir) to share secrets of his girlfriends and all that. I am sorry. It’s my failure. I want a wall to be there between me and him through which I can see him, but can’t feel him.
During Ranbir’s childhood, I was busy working because of which he got closer to Neetu. Probably he felt that he needed his father by his side, but I’m sorry I just couldn’t. Ranbir feels that when he has kids of his own, he is not going to be like me. It’s a generation gap. I cannot be a friend to a son. You must accept me the way I am.
But there are moments when we share things. He once told me he was very uncomfortable while singing songs. I advised him to match the pitch of the singer and this you can notice effectively in the song Bulleya from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. One has to play it with conviction.
Actor, producer, director, which has been your ultimate callingIJ
My passion is acting. I have been known as an actor, that’s my first love.
You mention in the book that you bought your award for Bobby when Bachchan was nominated for Zanjeer. For Rs 30,000. Have the awards always been compromisedIJ
I don’t think in India awards mean anything much. It can be compromised. It feels good to get a pat on your back but we are actually giving awards only to rig ratings for television. And there is big money involved in these award ceremonies. And to make these big programmes hit, you have to get popular stars on board. Art is compromised in such a manner so that they can have popular figures for their front covers of their magazines. It is a game for gaining maximum eyeballs. In India, awards shouldn’t be taken so seriously.
Which leading lady were you most inspired by as your co-actorIJ
It’s difficult to say. I have enjoyed working with a few of them and I cannot say I have been inspired. I don’t think I copy anybody, I have my individual approach. No one has inspired me.
Is it the best time to be in the industry now that you are getting to explore your versatility. What is your ideal kind of filmIJ
Of course, I have to do something that is suitable for my age. I’m fed up playing a father. There are a couple of those that are very interesting, but I would like to portray characters like I did in Do Dooni Chaar (2010), Agneepath (2012), Kapoor & Sons (2016), Patiala House (2011) and luck by Chance (2009). I never received such roles in my heyday, so to say. I am very happy to have played a variety of roles in my second innings; and I’m quite enjoying it.
Finally, where’s the bluster of your online fire in this bookIJ This is a gentle memoir.
People who follow me on Twitter know what I’m all about. My fan following — whatever I have — has been largely supportive. They have always backed me up.
looking back at your life, what’s your biggest regretIJ
There are no regrets for the simple fact that I always got what I wanted and I did justice to it.
What differences did you find as you were part of two completely different eras of BollywoodIJ
During our time, we never came on time. We were quite indisciplined and never knew our lines. We always had secretaries around.
Today there is no content. We don’t value music. We have a multiplex audience which is difficult to judge. Still we do see better films being made today which couldn’t have been made 10 years ago. Films like Neerja, Kapoor & Sons and Pink would have never worked 10 years back. So we have an evolved audience.
Why didn’t the Kapoor family try to revive the R K StudiosIJ
I was busy as an actor. And somewhere along the way as filmmakers, I think we lost the connect with the audience. The industry was going through a change. The leading men were changing. The thinking process was changing. I know I can’t give these excuses but I should have hired other people to direct films considering I did not myself.
let Ranbir do it now. When he wants to work, he will do it. He is busy as an actor now. If he doesn’t want to direct the film, he can at least act in it.
In the age of biopics, what about one on Raj Kapoor, the showmanIJ
The fact is that my mother is there and I don’t think we (Randhir, Rajiv, Reema and Ritu Kapoor) have the rights to make my father’s biopic. I think either of the families has to take a call. But we definitely feel that a film must be made on Raj Kapoor.
Photo credit: Pankaj Kumar