When Rishi Kapoor spoke of his bond with son Ranbir Kapoor: ‘Admire that he doesn’t smoke in front of me’

Late Bollywood star and Ranbir Kapoor’s father Rishi Kapoor led a colourful life, and was known for his opinions on a wide variety of subjects. But most of all, he was known for his candour and wit, which is there for all to see in his autobiography, Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored.
In an earlier interview with Barkha Dutt for NDTV, during the promotion of the book, the actor had opened up on his ‘genius’ father and filmmaker Raj Kapoor, his equation with his son Ranbir, and the ‘lingering tension’ with Amitabh Bachchan, among other things.

When questioned about the tension between him and Big B, the actor said that he perceived there might be a tension since the year Rishi was nominated for an award, Amitabh was also in the running for the same prize. However, Rishi ended up bagging the trophy as he had paid for it.
“Someone said to me, we can get you recognition and reward, but it will cost you money. And yes, I paid that money to get an award. He (Amitabh Bachchan) was also nominated, and maybe…these are conjectures you know…I am thinking this might have happened that’s why there was that ‘lingering tension’…I had paid 25,000 to get an award, which was a big deal during those times. I was a spoilt, rich, brash kid. I feel bad about it now,” a candid Kapoor told Dutt at the time.

Later on, Kapoor revealed that it was not only Bachchan that he had an issue with. He confessed to harbouring an “illogical dislike” for another superstar of the same era, Rajesh Khanna, stating, “I probably disliked him because he took away my heroine. He married Dimple (Kapadia) whom I was supposed to work with a lot at that time, otherwise there was no ill feeling. I worked with him a lot, I even directed him in a movie later on.”
Kapoor, true to his nature, did not shy away from further revelations about himself and his family. The actor admitted that his father and celebrated actor-director Raj Kapoor had had multiple affairs even after his marriage with Krishna Malhotra — “My father had love affairs, it’s a part of hory, I cannot deny it. But my mother took the brunt of it. We moved out of the house into a hotel, the five siblings, we took a temporary place. This was when my parents were not getting along…I was not angry, I was just happy that I was staying at a hotel.”

Rishi not only opened up about his father, but spoke about his son as well in this interview with NDTV. Stating that he had always shared a reserved kind of bond with his own father, Rishi said that he naturally allowed the same kind of equation to dominate his bond with Ranbir as well.
Elaborating about the same, the actor mentioned, “I don’t subscribe to a back-slapping father and son relationship…You see your son but there’s a glass window. I think that kind of dance should be there.” “I don’t want to share the secrets about his girlfriends, I admire that he doesn’t smoke in front of me,” Rishi added.

 
Holding nothing back, the late star even discussed the alleged claim laid upon him that he did not allow Neetu to work post marriage. Rishi said that it was another thing that they decided upon naturally — “One had to be a filmmaker and one had to be a breadwinner.” When he was asked why could not they both have worked, Kapoor concluded, stating, “In those days, we did not think of it that way.”
Very soon, Neetu Kapoor will once again be seen gracing the silver screen in Dharma Productions’ Jug Jugg Jeeyo with the likes of Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani.