MUMBAI: Rishi Kapoor has decided to take on more work than ever before. He will be seen in approximately 8 films in the next two years.
Rishi concedes he has never been busier. “Yes, I’m in talks for more films. I don’t think I did so many films in my heydays. The thing is, I am now getting a variety of roles that I never did when I was working as a leading man. Today I get to play a Kashmiri in Fanaa and a Chandni Chowk Punjabi in Do Dooni Chaar and a don in Agneepath. I am enjoying myself. I remember a colleague of mine cribbing in my heydays that I wasn’t experimenting with my films, that I was doing uni-dimensional running-around-trees roles. Hamare industry mein chhaap pad jaati hai.”
Rishi is happy his son can experiment so early in his career. “Today my son Ranbir can experiment. But in my heydays I had to play a particular kind of roles. They either made action films of romantic films those days. Who would’ve imagined Zindaga Na Milegi Dobara in my times? I did Mera Naam Joker, Yeh Vada Raha and Doosra Aadmi which were ahead of their times. For 25 years I played the romantic hero. Now I’m getting to play all kinds of roles at this stage. None of those mundane father parts where I shout, ‘Khabardaar!’ Lovely scripts I’m getting to read. I’ve said yes to three more for sure.”
At one time Rishi Kapoor had introduced 23 newcomers in a romantic lead opposite him. “Now I’ve lost count. Now as a character actor I’m introducing two new girls Alia Bhatt in Student Of The Year and the Turkish actress in Tell Me Oh Kkhuda.”
Rishi says there was a valid reason why he worked with so many new actresses in his heydays. “I wasn’t well-matched with the established actresses. I was the romantic young boy. Hemaji, Rekha, Shabana looked older. Dimple Kapadia had just got married. The only actresses I could work with were Moushumi Chatterjee and Neetu Singh. In seven years before I married Neetu I did eleven films with her. Today my colleagues are working with younger and younger heroines to look younger. But I was always working with younger girls.”
