The Hindi movie star died on April 30 at the age of 67 from cancer.<\/b>
\nRishi Kapoor died on Thursday from cancer in Mumbai. Over five decades, the 67-year-old actor rolled out the hits, featured in numerous chart-busting songs, and aced character roles. Where do we even begin to pick from such a long and fruitful career?
Mera Naam Joker (1970)Rishi Kapoor\u2019s first full-length role was in his father Raj Kapoor\u2019s Mera Naam Joker in 1970. The movie follows the travails of circus clown Raju (Raj Kapoor). Raju\u2019s first love is as a teenager, when he falls for his teacher (Simi Garewal). The fake joy Raju summons up at his teacher\u2019s wedding comes handy when he begins a life under the Big Top.
Bobby (1973)Rishi Kapoor\u2019s first leading role was once again handled by his father. In Raj Kapoor\u2019s Bobby (1973), Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia were perfectly cast as young inter-faith lovers throwing caution to the winds.
Among the movie\u2019s most popular tunes is Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Bandh Ho. Although this evergreen hit is about two lovers trapped in a room, the song takes the characters out to green valleys, dark forests with tigers, and snow-capped mountains.
\u2018Oh Hansini\u2019, Zehreela Insaan (1974)Sporting a thin moustache, Kapoor looked much older than he was in Zehreela Insaan. But the command with which he enunciates every word of this slow romantic song and expresses the right emotion and right beat does not give a hint of his age.
Rafoo Chakkar (1975)The Some Like It Hot-inspired comedy stars Kapoor and Paintal as musicians who witness a murder and dress themselves up as women to save themselves. This was already Kapoor\u2019s third film with Neetu Singh, and it\u2019s hard to tell who was prettier. The movie has ghastly make-up, questionable drag-themed comedy, peppy songs (including Kisi Pe Dil Agar) andcrackling Rishi-Neetu chemistry.
Khel Mein (1975)More Rishi-Neetu magic and nifty footwork in this crime thriller that inspired the Abbas-Mustan-directed Khiladi years later. Khel Mein is packed with great songs, including Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, Humne Tumko Dekha and Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karenge.
By the time of Khel Mein\u2019s release two years after Bobby, Kapoor had come into his own as a singing-dancing romantic hero. In Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, Kapoor is jauntier and more confident in his expressions.
Humne Tumko Dekha, among Kapoor\u2019s earliest guitar-on-stage songs, showcases his shimmying skills and ability to hold centrestage without an accompanying heroine.
Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karenge is a step forward: a rebellious declaration of love in an inebriated state. Witness Kapoor\u2019s ability to command attention throughout a seemingly unchoreographed song.
Laila Majnu (1976)This stirring version of the Laila-Majnu tragedy pairs Kapoor with Ranjeeta. Kapoor is well-suited to play the young Qais, whose love for Laila makes him lose his mind \u2013 he becomes a \u201cmajnoon\u201d \u2013 and wander in the desert.
Parda Hai Parda, Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)Kapoor is Akbar, one of three brothers raised in different faiths. Manmohan Desai\u2019s manic comedy explores Amitabh Bachchan\u2019s comic timing and Vinod Khanna\u2019s brawniness, but Kapoor has many moments and the movie\u2019s best tunes.
Parda Hai Parda, the quintessential Rishi Kapoor qawaali song, gets the actor to dial up his charm to 100 and beyond. He reasserts his power as the ultimate loverboy in the eight-minute song sequence, imploring his lover to lift up her veil and accept him. Of course he succeeds.
Bachna Ae Haseeno, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin (1977)Kapoor is in his element as a showman in the super-duper Bachna Ae Haseeno from Hum Kisise Kum Nahin. Trumpet in hand, Kapoor sprints from one end of the stage to another and uses the space to communicate the zest and vigour of the song that declares, \u201cBeauties, beware, for I have arrived.\u201d
Dafaliwale Dafali Baja, Sargam (1979)Rishi Kapoor and Jaya Prada matched heartbeats and moves in K Viswanath\u2019s remake of his Telugu film Siri Muvva. Dafli in hand, a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes, Kapoor proved yet again that he was an all-round package.
The most popular song from the movie, Dafaliwale Dafali Baja, has Lata Mangeshkar\u2019s voice and Jaya Prada dancing up a storm with a dafli-wielding Kapoor.
Karz (1980)Subhash Ghai\u2019s reworking of the Hollywood film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud showcases Kapoor\u2019s many talents. Kapoor plays Monty, the reincarnation of a wealthy man who has been killed by his wife (Simi Garewal).
The song Om Shanti Om encapsulates what Rishi Kapoor meant to the movies. Here he is, a one-man-charm-army, regaling a theatre full of audiences clapping and hooting, while he advises them on love as if he\u2019s a veteran in matters of the heart \u2013 which he was, by this point.
In Dard-e-Dil, Kapoor\u2019s charisma is so strong that you might not notice that he is strumming a cordless electric guitar. Kapoor seamlessly moves from emotion to emotion, cheerful one minute and gloomy in the next.
Prem Rog (1982)One of Raj Kapoor\u2019s most affecting films, Prem Rog explores the plight of a widow. Kapoor plays Deodhar, the orphan who dares to love Rama (Padmini Kolhapure) and is ready to face whatever is thrown his way. Kapoor often played a romantic rebel, and this movie is one of the best examples of the character type.
Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun, Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981)Kapoor was the prototype and playbook for whatever Shah Rukh Khan did with romance in the nineties and the noughts. In the song Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun from Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981), Kapoor dances on top of a train to soothe his upset lover.
Saagar (1985)Ramesh Sippy cleverly updated the Rishi Kapoor-Dimple Kapadia pairing in Bobby for Saagar (1985). Although it was billed as Kapadia\u2019s comeback film, and had a scene-stealing Kamal Haasan, Kapoor stood his ground \u2013 not the first time he would demand and get attention in an ensemble film.
By the time of Saagar\u2019s release, Kapoor had put on some weight, the malleable features of his face had hardened and his gaze became steely. In the Chehra Hai Ya Chand Khila Hai song, Kapoor doesn\u2019t have to do much. He is relaxed and simply lets his eyes do the talking.
Ek Chadar Maili Si (1986)The closest that Kapoor came to starring in an arthouse film. After her husband\u2019s sudden death, Ranno (Hema Malini) is forced by custom to marry her brother-in-law Mangal (Kapoor) \u2013 whom she regards as her son.
Hathyar (1989)JP Dutta\u2019sacclaimed Mumbai-set crime drama has a heavyweight cast led by Dharmendra. Kapoor has a lovely role as Saimulla, a musician and the younger brother of Dharmandra\u2019s gangster who wants to have nothing to do with the family business.
Chandni (1989)Yash Chopra\u2019s 1989 blockbuster is all about its heroine, played by Sridevi. And yet, we also remember the men who loved her \u2013 played by Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna. All three of them must be up there somewhere singing songs of longing to each other.
Bol Radha Bol (1992)After multi-starrers and love triangles, Kapoor was back in the saddle for David Dhawan\u2019s comedy. Kapoor excels as the good-natured Kishan and his evil lookalike Tony.
Hum Dono (1995)In this buddy comedy, Kapoor and Nana Patekar came together as estranged brothers forced to tolerate each other in order to gain their father\u2019s inheritance. Kapoor was always a large-hearted actor, never hogging the screen or upstaging his co-stars. This movie is further proof of his generosity.
Luck By Chance (2008)One of Kapoor\u2019s most delightful roles was in Zoya Akhtar\u2019s Luck By Chance (2009). He played the wonderfully named Romy Rolly, a veteran Hindi film producer who struggles to understand the ways of the new generation.
Do Dooni Chaar (2010)Habib Faisal reunited Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh for a sweet comedy set in Delhi. Kapoor played a middle-class school teacher who is stretched beyond his means when his family demands that he replace his trusty scooter with a car.
Agneepath (2012)As the pimp Rauf Lala in Karan Malhotra\u2019s Agneepath, Kapoor is nastiness personified \u2013 a rare turn towards villainy and an astute casting choice. The song Shah Ka Rutba is a throwback to Kapoor\u2019s qawwali hits.
Aurangzeb (2013)Another inspired casting choice, this time in Atul Sabharwal\u2019s crime drama Aurangzeb (2013). Kapoor plays a corrupt and venal police officer.
D-Day (2013)In Nikkhil Advani\u2019s D-Day, Kapoor is a scream as a Dawood Ibrahim-inspired gangster who is holed up in Karachi. A team of undercover Indian intelligence agents works on getting him back to India. One of the agents is played by Irrfan.
Kapoor & Sons (2016)Shakun Batra\u2019s observational comedy is groaning with talent \u2013 Fawad Khan, Alia Bhatt, Ratna Patak Shah, Rajat Kapoor \u2013 and Rishi Kapoor, as the cheeky grandfather with a thing for the actress Mandakini from Ram Teri Ganga Maili (an in-joke, since that film was made by Raj Kapoor).
Mulk (2018)One of Kapoor\u2019s last and most substantial roles. In Anubhav Sinha\u2019s Mulk, Kapoor movingly plays a father forced to deal with his son\u2019s turn towards terrorism and the Islamophobia that follows.
102 Not Out (2018)Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor were in several films together. In Umesh Shukla\u2019s 102 Not Out (2018), they play father (Bachchan) and son (Kapoor). The conceit barely works, but any opportunity to watch these stalwarts together, right?
Also read:
Life itself: Rishi Kapoor (1952-2020) embodied romance and an irrepressible spirit
Rishi Kapoor on meeting Dawood Ibrahim, swatting off Salim-Javed, and Ranbir Kapoor<\/p>\n