Like all of us, Poonam Dhillon too is saddened at the demise of Rishi Kapoor, who succumbed to cancer today morning.
Poonam Dhillon worked with the late Rishi Kapoor in Ye Vaada Raha (1982), Sitamgar (1985), Ek Chadar Maili Si (1986) and many more. She shares her memories of him in an exclusive interview with Filmfare. “It’s difficult to say anything about someone, who tragically passed away so suddenly. Someone, you have known for so many years. I worked in so many films with him. We shared a friendly relationship. I admired him and looked up to him.” She continues, “I’m aggrieved. I’m shattered. We are going through tough times as it is. Now losing someone, you have been a great fan of, someone you’ve been fond of… it’s extremely difficult. You can’t even grieve with your friends. You’re stuck and majboor in the true sense. I wanted to go and pay him my last respects and say a proper goodbye. I wanted to be with his family. But none of those things can happen right now.” As an actor too, she admired him. “He was one of my favourite actors. Not just as a co-star but someone I’ve enjoyed watching on the screen for years.”
Poonam recalls her first meeting with the late Rishi Kapoor. “I first saw him on the mahurat of Trishul (1978). I was raw and I didn’t know anything about the film industry. But later when I was shooting at RK Studio, he’d drop on the sets because it was their production Biwi O Biwi. Randhir Kapoor was the hero. But I was too shy to talk to Rishi. It would just be a hello. When we began working with him in Yeh Vaada Raha, then I got to know him as a person.”
Rishi Kapoor was extremely popular among his heroines. “He had a great sense of humour. He would rag his co-stars, bullying most of his heroines. Neetu once said, ‘Imagine ussne mujhe kitna pareshaan kiya, kitna bully kiya. Mujhe toh woh rula deta tha’. That was way of showing affection. He’d imitate his co-star’s accent, their dance, everything about them,” she smiles fondly at the recollection.
their accent, dancing or anything.”
Poonam elaborates, “Rishi was extremely focused on his work. He was a fun co-star, uncomplicated but hard working. Personally, I learnt a lot from him. Till date, I’ve been a huge fan of him.” She says she was in touch with him. “I was in touch with him. I used to message him or sometimes call him. I’d send him wishes. He used to respond always with a positive message. We met a few months back before he fell sick in Delhi. Before that we had met at friend’s dinner party. It was a great experience. Neetu was also there. We took a picture together. We believed the cancer would never come back. We believed he was cured. So, did he. We thought he’d suffered enough and that it was all okay. But God had some other plan.”
