Rishi Kapoor, romantic hero par excellence, is happy that beta Ranbir is passionate – about his work.“He’s had only two releases, he has a long way to go yet. But what I’m happy about is that he’s very passionate about his work.You have to love what you do, and Ranbir is absolutely engrossed in what he does, passionate about his films, just like his grandfather and his father!” says Rishi, enjoying some Dilli ki hawa on a recent trip to the city. What about Deepika, his passionate son’s girlfriend? “Absolutely normal, I think she’s one of Ranbir’s girlfriends, so what?” is Rishi’s nonchalant reply.
Known for his romantic roles, Rishi says he’s not that gung-ho about this generation’s idea of romance. “I’m just trying to prove that life is worth living with a relationship that should be committed to love, rather than just a physical relationship. After the release of Love Aaj Kal, two of my friends (who live abroad) called me. One of them told me that the film was such an eye-opener, because their kids live in the US and they have very different outlook. They feel that their kids are staying in a society where such things are common, and when they saw the film, it was easy for them to understand the true meaning of a relationship. I always tell my kids that I’m not pushing you to follow something I want you to. But a relationship is meant to be nurtured over a period of time, and is not just about jumping into bed.”
And then Rishi goes into flashback mode about love on 70 mm in his heydays. “When I started off in Bobby, people would say, ‘This is the jet age.’ That was 40 years ago. Today’s youth is more exposed to information than we were... But that doesn’t mean you change your lifestyle, dammit!” he bursts out.
Rishi and wife Neetu are coming back to the silver screen together, in a film called Do Dooni Char. The movie’s been shot in Delhi and Rishi says that Neetu had to be convinced to do the film. “Acting is like swimming,” he says. “You can never forget it. I told Neetu, Riddhima’s married now, Ranbir, by God’s grace, is doing well, so why wouldn’t you work in films? She was sitting at home, so finally she decided to act.”
