Rishi Redone

From playing a gay professor to an aggressive villain,Rishi Kapoor today is the go-to actor for most character-driven roles.

Senior actor Neetu Kapoor did most of her films in the 1970s with Rishi Kapoor as her co-star. She was head-over-heels in love with him. Yet,she never considered him to be an outstanding actor. That impression changed when they both got back together for the year 2010s surprise hit,Do Dooni Chaar (DDC). I saw a different side to him. He had transformed into this wonderful actor whom I was in awe of, she says.

Convey this to Rishi and he readily agrees with his wife. Experience in a field teaches you a lot. Over the years,you feel more challenged to take up diverse roles, says the 59-year-old actor. In recent times,Rishi has played several quirky characters,each different from the other a school teacher in DDC; an eccentric filmmaker in Luck By Chance; an old-fashioned romantic in Love Aaj Kal (LAK) and an over-the-top politician in Chintuji.

However,his biggest challenge till date has been the character of Rauf Lala in the remake of Agneepath. For the first time in his career,he played an out-and-out negative character. I was wary of the audience accepting me as an antagonist and rejected the offer, says Kapoor. But director Karan Malhotra was insistent. On my wedding reception,when he came to congratulate me,my wife thought he would be perfect as Rauf Lala, says Malhotra,who created this new character for the remake.

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Agneepath is not the only experimental ground Rishi is treading upon these days. In Sajid Khans Housefull 2,he dabbles in slapstick comedy for the first time. He has also attempted a serious reinvention by playing a gay professor in Karan Johars Student of The Year and a tattooed biker in David Dhawans remake of Chashme Buddoor. I have now become a salesman, Rishi declares. I have to sell my wares carefully. My shop is open and I want my audience to enjoy my roles, he says.

Kapoor started out as a romantic hero in 1970. After his second film Bobby,he was labelled as the chocolate boy. This moniker stayed with him for the next three decades. I sang songs in the best of valleys,chased girls in stylish sweaters,fought villains and danced to numbers, he says. Towards the late 1990s,he started losing interest. I was fed up of doing the same kind of films. I had put on weight and my wife started telling me that I am doing films out of boredom, he says. One day,he gave it all up.

In 1999,he directed Aa Ab Laut Chalein. It was a box-office dud and he realised that acting was his only calling. During that time,Rahul Rawail and Veeru Devgn approached him to play the fathers role in Raju Chacha and Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi. I decided to take up these offers. Kapoor played the patriarch in many of the films that followed.

Now,fathers roles do not appeal to him. I dont even want to play father to Ranbir (Kapoor) on screen. The only time I will take up a project with him is when we both have challenging roles, he confirms.

Are the filmmakers listening?

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