Birth anniversary special: The unadulterated, underrated villainy of Rishi Kapoor

Rishi Kapoor ’s naïveté and precociousness were hauntingly blended by filmmaker and his father Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker. Kapoor played the youngest version of Raj Kapoor himself, innocently enamored by his school teacher who departs in a heartbreaking scene. His role ended there, but what began was a sure-footed, surreal legacy that will continue to live on. Three years later, he debuted as the leading man, again in a film directed by the showman of Hindi cinema. Thy name was Bobby, played by the dazzling Dimple Kapadia , in and as, of course. Here, Kapoor was both alluring and awkward. Who cares about the latter as long as the film is a hoot! It was, and maybe still is, for many fans and connoisseurs. One fact was sealed, Rishi Kapoor was here to stay and slay. He’s regarded and hailed as the longest-reigning romantic hero of Hindi cinema, who also has an unbreakable record of romancing as many as 15 debuting starlets. He announced voluntary retirement in 1998, Rakesh Roshan’s Karobaar being his final brush with romance. What Saif Ali Khan ’s Deepak Kumar went through in Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Rishi Kapoor experienced in real. The staleness of success evaporated the passion for cinema and camera. Hallelujah! The man went through a major metamorphosis that moulded his career historically. For all his on-screen romances, there was another side to Rishi Kapoor that he seldom explored, and when he did, exploded with élan and ease. In 1989, Ramsay Brothers made a wishy-washy whodunnit called Khoj. It also starred Naseeruddin Shah , Danny Denzongpa, Kimi Katkar and Satish Shah in a double role. Here, Kapoor played a husband who’s out to hunt for his missing wife. A mysteriously creepy woman shows up at his doorstep claiming to be his wife. Who’s she? Why does he fail to recognize her, let alone embrace with acknowledgment? The end reveals his wife was long dead and he’s the killer. Kapoor recalled on Twitter how the makers messed up the climax in an otherwise passable, seldom griping thriller. Rishi Kapoor’s closest friends in the industry were Jeetendra and Rakesh Roshan. The Jumping Jack’s daughter made a film called Kucch To Hai. In this, Kapoor tried his hands with villainy again. He played Professor Bakshi, spine-chilling to the core. He’s a psychotic demon who talks to his wife’s dead body that lies in the basement of his eerie house. The fatal fate of the film’s commercial prospects aside, the veteran showed how he could make holding a knife as unchallenging as a Dafli. By the time Hindi cinema entered its mid 2000s, the one actor who was relishing refreshing roles the most and chewing them up with all pleasure was Rishi Kapoor. In both Karan Malhotra’s _Agneepath_ and Nikkhil Advani’s _D-Day_ , he was the central antagonist of the story. One was a fictional goon, the other a real gangster. His years of experience and emptiness as an actor allowed him to have fun like few performers have while walking on a complicated turf. Shades of black never shone this bright. Arguably his most underrated, underachieved moniker came in 2013’s _Aurangzeb_ . We are informed right at the beginning this is a corrupt cop. He gives a classic line about how someone sees ‘Rang in paisa’ too. But we have no idea how dark this character is going to get. As the narrative progresses, he begins to peal off the mask of morality he was wearing all along. He’s the show-stealer here, the definitive embodiment of greed that unapologetically chooses fortune over family. On Twitter, he was a riot, almost rambunctious. Unfiltered, unashamed, and sadly unfortunate. The biggest tragedy to happen with Rishi Kapoor was not the ignorance of his finest roles as a hero or villain, but being labeled as a villainous nuisance of social media. Someone like him, he should’ve been the hero along. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.