Here’s what Rishi Kapoor had to share during his Vadodara trip in 2017

Rishi Kapoor was at his candid best during his visit to Vadodara to attend a literary festival in 2017. Talking about the city, he had shared, “I was reminded of the song ‘Chhuk Chhuk…Bombay Se Baroda tak’ from my film

Rafoo Chakkar

. I had come to the city about 35 years ago for shooting a song for the film

Prem Rog

and it feels really nostalgic to be back after so long.” Later, while speaking at the event, he spoke about numerous interesting anecdotes, why he loves speaking his mind on social media and lots more. Excerpts:

LOVE SPEAKING MY MIND ON SOCIAL MEDIA:It doesn’t take too much of an effort to be honest on Twitter, isn’t it? Everyone has an opinion when it comes to burning issues and as an actor, I also love to jump into the stormy sea and take the bull by the horns. My opinion can be wrong as well, but nobody can stop me from expressing my thoughts freely in a democracy.

LOVING MY SECOND INNINGS IN BOLLYWOOD: In the first 25 years of my career, although I was always among the top four or five cerebral actors in Hindi cinema, I hardly got a chance to showcase my acting skills. Barring two or three films, nobody talked about my acting skills, although they loved to watch me on screen. Acting ka mauka hi kahan tha? I absolutely love the kind of movies that I have got to do in recent years, be it Do Dooni Chaar, Agneepath or Kapoor & Sons.
AUDIENCES ARE MORE MATURE NOW:Back in the 70s and 80s, audiences were pretty innocent. Aap kuch bhi banao, woh log dekh lete the, and formula films would work. So, people made those rich boy, poor girl/poor boy, rich girl love stories over and over again. Today, thanks to the internet and other mediums, people watch world cinema and you can’t keep giving them formula films. One couldn’t have thought of making wonderful films like Badlapur, Piku and Neerja before multiplexes came in, because these films would have probably found it tough to find big audiences in single screens. The Indian film industry has gone through a big metamorphosis, which is fantastic.

WHEN RANBIR CALLED ME UP FOR ADVICE:These days, stars are pretty confident and don’t need much advice. But recently, Ranbir (Kapoor) called me up and said that he was finding it difficult to lip sync for a song. And that is when I shared an advice from my father (Raj Kapoor), which had worked wonders for me at the beginning of my acting career. I told him that no matter how besura an actor is, he/she must sing the song at the same pitch as the playback singer. He tried that for a song in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and it worked really well for him. When we are paid as actors, we must try to do the job to the best of our abilities.

STARRY ANECDOTES: While my family was keen that I join the FTII (Film and Television Institute of India), I was rejected because I had failed in class XI. But that didn’t matter much because given the kind of legacy the Kapoor family has since the last 90 years, I couldn’t have asked for a better training experience while growing up. I was just two years old when I did my first film (

Shree 420

), where I just had to appear for a brief moment in the song ‘Pyaar hua, iqrar hua’, walking in the rain. Shashi Kapoor says that I was a badmash bachcha and the shot was delayed, as I would cry the moment water reached my eyes. Eventually, Nargis ji said that she would give me a chocolate and that worked! As a kid, even when I cried, I would watch myself in the mirror. So, I was probably destined to be an actor. When I heard my father telling mom that I would play an important role in

Mera Naam Joker

, I was overjoyed but didn’t show it to them. But that same day, I had started practising my autograph! It was a very tough time for us financially when the film didn’t work at the box-office. But it won me a National Award and when I placed the award at the feet of my grandfather (Prithviraj Kapoor), he was in tears and told me, “Aaj Raj ne mera karza utar diya!”

YES, I BOUGHT AN AWARD!After Mera Naam Joker, we badly needed a big hit and Bobby was a massive film for me. I was barely 21, had won a National Award and was the second highest paid actor in the industry! Dimaag kharab ho gaya tha, and I have no qualms in admitting that I had even bought an award in those days! But after that, I saw failures too and learnt a lot from them.