Padmini Kolhapure recalls her association with Rishi Kapoor

When Rishi Kapoor was offered Prem Rog, he felt that it was a women oriented film and would be known as a Padmini Kolhapure film. But his co-star Padmini Kolhapure tells us, “He indeed said that before doing the film, but I feel that he should have won the best actor award for Prem Rog. I feel it was one of his iconic roles.” Padmini Kolhapure calls the RK parivar as her extended family and is feeling terribly sad that she could not take Rishi Kapoor’s blessing before he left for his final journey.

She says, “It is a personal loss for me. I just want to run out and scream because we are in such terrible times I cannot even go to see him as we are stuck at home. Until now we thought he was getting better and I knew he was a fighter. But it is unfortunate that he has left us.” When asked if Rishi Kapoor was really a blunt person, she explains, “He was always straight forward, a little boisterous, very khush mizaaz, ek dum bindaas and extremely extrovert and introvert at the same time. He was also a little conservative in a way.”

Padmini tells us  a rather uncanny  thing  that happened just a few days before Rishi Kapoor passed away. She informs, “I don’t really post anything on social media, but only a few days ago, I saw Prem Rog playing on some channel and went ahead and posted on Instagram Watch Prem Rog now and then this happens! Rishi Kapoor is gone I am totally devastated.”

Padmini Kolhapure was a huge fan of Rishi Kapoor and tells us that she used to watch all his films especially those co-starring Neetu Singh. And then she got cast opposite him in Prem Rog. The veteran actress shares another anecdote about Rishi Kapoor from the sets of Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai. Padmini says, “My first shot with Rishi Kapoor was the song Poocho Naa Yaar Kya Hua and in the first shot he had to hug me and I was shaking. Not because it was first film, I had done a lot of films – but it was RISHI KAPOOR the star!”

But did she get intidimated by the actor? She says, “Not at all! I knew the Kapoor family very well, but Rishi Kapoor created that persona around him but inside he was a very sensitive actor and it happens only if the actor is compassionate.”  But in the industry Rishi was considered to be rude or blunt at times to which Padmini clarifies, “Not really, he was like a kid on the set and an actor who was very supportive of his costars.”

(This is an excerpt from our special May 2020 issue on Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan. Please click on this link  https://cineblitz.news/may_2020 to read more)

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