Neetu Kapoor reveals the last time she spoke to Rishi Kapoor was on their engagement anniversary, recalls his final days

An emotional Neetu Kapoor recalled her late husband Rishi Kapoor’s last days in the hospital and the connection between their engagement date back in 1979, with the last day she was able to speak to him. She explained that on April 13, 1979 they got engaged, and on April 13, 2020, Rishi Kapoor stopped communicating as he was put on the ventilator. There was something about the dates, she felt, because her son Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s wedding functions also began on April 13.  Rishi Kapoor died on April 30, 2020 after a two-year battle with cancer.

Speaking to Film Companion, Neetu said, “Ranbir and Alia got married on April 14, but April 13 was the puja.” She continued, “For those two weeks, he was on the ventilator and there was no conversation and no communication. There was no interaction–well, there was, he was looking at me, and I took an iPad with alphabet and I told him to point out what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t lift his finger. It was just Ranbir and me in the hospital, and to see him go through that was so tormenting. To see a man like him… he wanted to say so much, and he couldn’t express. I couldn’t see him like that.”
During the course of the conversation, Neetu revealed that she had two protective forces in her life, her mother and Rishi Kapoor. “He was too protective. He just wouldn’t let go of me. But when Riddhima got married, she bloomed. You have to let go of people. It’s their journey. Let them lead their own lives, and be happy.”
Talking about Ranbir and Alia’s wedding that took place on Ranbir’s terrace, Neetu said that while the couple wanted it to be low-key, she said that Rishi Kapoor would have wanted a big wedding. “He’s a showman, showman ka beta. Ranbir differs, he said, ‘I would convince papa.’ He’s very shanth (peaceful).”

Neetu Kapoor is prepared for her upcoming film Jug Jugg Jeeyo, which stars Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani.