She started her career as a child actor and went on to become the most sought after actress of the 70s playing characters that were light hearted and fun. But for the last 30 years of her life, Neetu Singh Kapoor has spent her time being a homemaker and raising her two kids, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and actor Ranbir Kapoor.
After a break of 30 years she’s back on the silver screen once again, with her husband and favorite co-actor, Rishi Kapoor, in Habib Faisal’s Do Dooni Chaar.
The actress speaks to Businessofcinema.com about the film and her comeback.
Excerpts:
What made you come back to films after all these years?
I think it was just the script of Do Dooni Chaar. I heard the script on the director Habib’s insistence and I loved it and I said yes to the film.
In Do Dooni Chaar are you drawing from any personal experiences to play the character you are playing?
No, I did not draw from any personal experiences. I play the character of Kusum Duggal in the film and it’s the director who has made me look like a typical middle class woman, living in Delhi, who runs her house on a monthly budget, with the dialogues, the language and the characters that are created.
Do you think actors were luckier back in your time or are they luckier now?
Well as far as money is concerned the actors today are much luckier, with the kind of money they are being paid now. We were paid nothing back then. It was a very meager amount that we got and also the kind of facilities they have now like for example the swanky vanity vans etc. We never had all those and sometimes did our make- up on the roads! But otherwise I think actors today have a much tougher job because they have to keep re-inventing, doing new roles since it’s become very competitive today. It was easier for us since we learnt from our errors with every film because there was not much competition then but today one can’t afford to falter because there is so much competition and today’s actors are very professional and they are all good in each and everything like dance, action etc.
What do you think of the new league of directors?
The directors today are definitely tech-savvy and they are fantastic. They also have access to so much more today like things like sync – sound, the hi- tech cameras and the other film equipments, they are very intelligent directors today and filmmaking has definitely changed from what it was back then.
Will we see you acting opposite any other actor besides Rishi Kapoor?
I am not thinking about a career at this point in life, I did this film after thirty years because it’s a very special film and it’s also an exciting script. My whole family is very happy that I did the film, my mother-in-law, daughter, son etc. I haven’t really given a thought about doing films with anyone else.
If you were to do a film then who would you like to work with from the new league of actors?
I think for me the directors are very important first since you need to have a connection with the director. It is the director who will decide on the actors according to his script and characters, so it all depends on the director’s vision.
From the new league of directors, who would you like to work with?
I think the new league of directors are brilliant, directors like Imtiaz Ali, Rajkumar Hirani, Farhan Akthar, Karan Johar to name a few. I had been approached by Karan for one of his films but I was not ready at that time since the kids were still home and I wanted to be there for them.
Do we see you working with Ranbir in the near future?
Yes I would love to work with Ranbir; I think it would be fun, but having said that I do not want to do the typical mom roles. The film has to be exciting enough to make me want to do it. Like Do Dooni Chaar, it’s a film that feels real, I never did a film all these years but I got swept away by this film it’s a cute film.
