Rishi Kapoor was hospitalised on Wednesday morning after complaining that he was not feeling well. The 67-year-old actor was admitted to Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai. Wife Neetu Kapoor was at his side. Despite constant efforts, the actor breathed his last on Thursday morning after a long battle with cancer. Well, it would not be wrong to say that he had a magnetic personality, emerging from the son of the iconic Raj Kapoor to the romantic hero of the seventies to the father of new-age star Ranbir Kapoor.
As soon as he passed away, stars like Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar to his co-stars like Rati Agnihotri and Juhi Chawla among many others were shocked by the sudden demise of veteran actor. While the entire nation is still mourning his death, several international publications paid heartfelt tributes to him and called Rishi 'Bollywood's 'forever youthful' heartthrob'.
BBC, while writing about his debut film Bobby mentioned, "At a time when Indian heroes were playing angry young men or tragic heroes, Kapoor's youthful vivacity and his on-screen chemistry with the debutant heroine, Dimple Kapadia, enthralled the audience," adding, "In his middle age, Kapoor reinvented himself, playing the roles of avuncular and quirky patriarchs, gangsters and cameos in slapstick comedies." The New York Times added, "Mr. Kapoor was best known as a romantic hero, and his charm and charisma quickly made him one of Bollywood’s leading men of the 1970s and ’80s."
Lastly, The Guardian heaped praises on the actor and wrote, "As the years went on, Rishi kept playing romantic and dramatic roles in a rollercoaster career of hits and flops but was always cushioned by his popularity – which in later years he parlayed into a big social media presence. He stayed his cheerfully pampered and well-preserved self, while his leading ladies stayed the same young age," further stating, "He was the big-hearted, sweet-natured leading man with the benign air of an eternal juvenile lead who stole audience’s hearts. His death is another sad day for Indian cinema."
RIP Rishi Ji!
