‘Rishi Kapoor was my family, not being able to see him for the last time is my life’s biggest tragedy’: Subhash Ghai

Subhash Ghai, who had a longstanding association with Rishi Kapoor, said that not being able to attend the veteran actor’s funeral will go down as one of the ‘biggest regrets’ of his life.

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai and late actor Rishi Kapoor’s association was iconic. The two came together for Karz, a reincarnation drama with Ghai helming it, and it was such a big hit that it’s counted among their career’s best films.

Subhash Ghai, who directed Rishi Kapoor in the iconic Karz, said that the late actor was like ‘family’.

Naturally, Ghai is devastated that his leading man is no more. “Our association started in 1976, and then Karz happened in 1980. During that period, I became very close to him. That film has survived for more than 40 years now. After all this time, he still had the same passion. And when Raj Kapoor saab (father of Rishi) saw Karz, his family became mine, and mine his,” says Ghai.

In fact, Ghai had requested Kapoor to come for a function at his film institute, but he refused. Revealing why, he adds, “I met him in January to invite him, we wanted to present him an award for being a legend, but what did he say? ‘I can’t accept it, no award is better for me than my shoots, I want to shoot daily’. I laughed, and said ‘passion abhi tak khatam nahi hua, par sehat theek nahi hai tumhari (your passion is far from over, but you are not keeping well). Koi nahi (No problem), you don’t come for it, we will do it again next year’. Then I asked why he was still going for shoots, he had just come back from US. He said ‘main reh nahi sakta yaar at home, main marr jaoonga (I cannot live at home, I will die). I cannot live without (shooting). Then he started lecturing me on why I haven’t made a film in many years. I laughed and said ‘tujhe koi convince nahi kar sakta (no one can convince you)’. He was more Chintu than Rishi Kapoor for me.”

Revealing that Rishi would be the first one to message or call him after his film’s release, he tells us, “Whenever I would be in depression, his message would come ‘don’t get depressed, you are the best’. Here, after a film flops, actors desert you. But he was the only one who would call and talk after a film flopped. Aise insaan ke baare mein aap kya kahenge (What can you say about such a person)? I am so sad. If you have to name the top five actors of India, Rishi Kapoor’s name will be there.”

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