Neetu Singh Kapoor, what a magnificently messy marriage & life

Neetu Singh Kapoor stopped working as an actor soon after marriage to Rishi Kapoor . It became impossible to work, what with her husband constantly calling her asking where she is and how long will she take to get home.

Even going to a movie on a Sunday afternoon with her gal pals became impossible after a point. Rishi would constantly ask how much longer the film was going to take to finish, which traffic signal she has reached on her way back home, etc.

Now there is no one to ask Neetu where she is going and what she is up to. And she doesn’t enjoy the freedom to do as she likes. Freedom, as we all know, is fun only when there are restrictions. Rishi Kapoor was the most possessive boyfriend/husband in the universe. He didn’t like it when his girl spoke to other co-stars on the sets of their films together.

They did twelve films together before their marriage, not all of them were hits or worthy of being hits; but who cared? as long as they could spend time together.

As kids, Ranbir and his sister would sit on the stairs as their parents argued loudly all night long in the living room below. It was a stormy marriage. But still, it is the only marriage Neetu ever wanted. If she had a chance to do it again, she would. Giving up her career for marriage was not difficult. Neetu was not career-oriented. All she wanted was to marry the man she loved.

Among the films Neetu and Rishi did together, none gave her a chance to prove her acting chops. She did good films with Rishi, like Khel Khel Mein , Doosra Aadmi and Kabhi Kabhie . But all the acting opportunities in these films went to other actors.

Still, Neetu had her share of accolades. When given a chance she was wonderful in Basu Chatterjee ’s Priyatama,  a marital drama about a pampered girl and her working-class husband, which showed how natural she could be in front of the camera. I also liked her in Chorni where she played the title role with a natural flair for the comic.

For most of her career, Neetu Singh played the chirpy bubbly effervescent girlfriend. In Yash Chopra ’s Deewaar and Kabhi Kabhie , Neetu was the song break.

Shabana Azmi recalls having the most fun-time with Neetu when they worked together in Manmohan Desai’s Amar Akbar Anthony and Parvarish .

“I had to make an effort to have fun while shooting these lighthearted film. Neetu was a natural. She is intrinsically a fun person and she was so devoted to Chintu (Rishi Kapoor). He wouldn’t let her move a finger without asking what she was doing. As an actor she was capable of much more than she allowed herself to do. All she wanted was to spend time with Chintu while working. I am so glad she is working again after Chintu. A woman’s life must not end after her husband,” says Shabana.

Neetu Singh Kapoor’s comeback in Jugjugg Jeeyo was a baby step towards recovering from an abbreviated career. What I would really like to see her play is a woman in serious pursuit of her identity after having played a devoted wife and mother for all her life.

Neetu once told me that her son Ranbir is sure to direct a film one day. Maybe he could make that one film with his mother that we don’t have to remember her by.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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