When Rishi Kapoor accused Javed Akhtar of making ‘false’ statement that Raj Kapoor was responsible for lyricist Shailendra’s death, warned Farhan Akhtar

Rishi couldn’t understand why Javed would do such a thing. Perhaps he wanted to ‘spice up’ the episode he wondered, but Rishi also remembered that people had told him that Javed ‘always had a hang-up’ about his father, Raj Kapoor. “I am hurt and upset about it to this day, and I have let him know that I do not appreciate his baseless, irresponsible and false accusation. He did say that he did not mean it the way it came across, so I let sleeping dogs lie,” he continued.

Javed had alleged that Shailendra died because of the debts that had piled up during the making of the film Teesri Kasam, starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman. The film was produced by Shailendra. Rishi said that he investigated Javed’s allegations with old hands at RK Studios and even his mother, and discovered that not only did his father do the film for free, but he also ‘completed the film with his own funds’. He added, “The truth is that my father kept telling Shailendra not to make the film. Shailendra died because his own brother-in-law cheated him. My father took it upon himself to pay Shailendra’s hospital bills and cleared his debts.”

Rishi wrote that he was on good terms with Javed’s wife, Shabana Azmi, so he didn’t let the situation get out of hand, although he demanded an apology be made, or proof be furnished to support the allegations made by Javed. But he did tell Javed’s son Farhan Akhtar at a party once that one day, his ‘patience would wear out and it wouldn’t be pleasant.’ He concluded, “I am patient man, but I have never been afraid of anyone…”