Neetu Kapoor says Rishi Kapoor ‘was never a friend to Riddhima and Ranbir Kapoor’, opens up about late husband’s last days

On Koffee with Karan, Neetu Kapoor looked back on Rishi Kapoor's last days, and said that the late actor attempted to repair his relationship with his family as the end neared.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | January 11, 2024 09:28 AM IST

3 min read

Neetu Kapoor remembers late Rishi Kapoor on Koffee With Karan season 8 (Photos: Karan Johar & Neetu Kapoor / Instagram)

The latest episode of Koffee with Karan featured yesteryear actors Neetu Kapoor and Zeenat Aman as guests. And the conversation was filled with anecdotes about the past, and about their personal lives. Both actors also spoke about parking their flourishing careers to focus on themselves. Neetu Kapoor, meanwhile, looked back on her tumultuous relationship with her husband, the late Rishi Kapoor.

Neetu said that Rishi was distant with both his children, Riddhima and Ranbir Kapoor, and would often display bullying tendencies. This harmed his relationship not just with them, but also with her. But, she said, he changed as a person while undergoing cancer treatment in New York. Rishi died after a two-year battle with the illness in 2020.

She opened up about how she views her 45 years with the late actor. Talking to host Karan Johar, Neetu shared, “For me, I don’t like to remember the sad parts. I like to remember the good parts of our relationship and of our time in New York. New York was really sad, but we had the best year, I had the best year of my life.”

Also Read | Ranbir Kapoor on how playing a son in Animal reminded him of Rishi Kapoor: ‘I’ve one regret in my life… I wish I could be friends with my father’

Neetu also revisited how Rishi who was never a friend to his children, but became one as the end neared. “Chintu Ji (Rishi Kapoor) was a very loving person. He had a lot of love in him. But he never really showed his love. He always kept his distance and bullied people, not showing his love. Especially with me and my children. Respect and all he lost out on a lot with his children. He was never a friend to them. But that year, he opened up. He showed love, went towards me also, he was so lovely. We had the best time.”

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Reminiscing the lovely memories and the legacy Rishi Kapoor has left behind, Neetu even spoke about her son Ranbir Kapoor and granddaughter Raha. She shared how the name aptly fits her since looking at the baby gives her ‘rahat’ (comfort).

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