Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor's love story

One of the most celebrated couples of B-Town, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor would have celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary together today, if it was not for the actor's untimely demise last year. To mark the special day, we take a walk down the memory lane to take a look at how they fell in love with each other on film sets, got married and started a family together, and stuck to each other through thick and thin. Read on:

Unlike many popular love stories, it was not love at first sight for Rishi and Neetu. The actors met for the first time on the sets of their first film together, ‘Zehreela Insaan’ in 1974. If stories are to be believed, Rishi was a prankster and would irritate Neetu constantly and she thought of him as a bully and hated him. However, back then he was the chocolate boy of Bollywood and she was one of the most sought-after actresses and it was inevitable for them to fall in love.

Pic: Instagram fanpage

Rishi and Neetu followed up their first outing with a string of films like ‘Kabhi Kabhi’, ‘Khel Khel Mein’ and ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’. While he was dating someone else at the time and would often take her help to woo her, he eventually realised that Neetu was the one for him. Soon, the two started going on dates chaperoned by her cousin on Neetu's mother's insistence. Apparently, before they began dating, Rishi had told Neetu that he would only date her and never marry her.

Pic: Instagram fanpage

Despite all his efforts to stall the marriage, he eventually did pop the question to Neetu. Their engagement was announced at a wedding in Rishi’s family in Delhi.

The two were married in one of the most lavish ceremonies. She was 21 and he was 26 at the time. Rishi had once said that he always felt, “yeh mujhe sambhal legi (she will take care of me)“. The couple soon became proud parents to two beautiful children – Riddhima and Ranbir.

Pic: Instagram fanpage

Reportedly, things were not easy for Neetu after marriage. The Kapoor family was known to be very patriarchal and a Kapoor bahu was expected to leave the industry and become a housewife. Neetu abided by the rule and told producers that she would not be working after marriage. She had reportedly also returned all her signing amounts and had left the industry for good. While some people claimed that Neetu was pushed into early retirement, she clarified that Rishi never forced her to do so.

Pic: Instagram fanpage

Rishi and Neetu enjoyed four decades of togetherness but their marital years were not without its challenges. Though there were various reports doing rounds in the media about their marital problems, the couple came out strong and supported each other through the highs and lows of life. According to Neetu, Rishi had always been a very good husband and a very good father, so no matter what happened she knew what she wanted from him and held onto him.

Pic: Instagram

In 2018, Rishi Kapoor shared a cryptic post about taking a break from work, adding that he was going to America for medical treatment. Later, in 2019, Neetu confirmed that he was battling cancer and that she was by his side. He came back to India by the end of 2019 and also resumed the shooting of ‘Sharmaji Namkeen’ co-starring Juhi Chawla.

Pic: Instagram

In February 2020, the veteran actor was hospitalised in Delhi due to some health issues, and all the members of the family including Ranbir Kapoor and his girlfriend, Alia Bhatt, had flown to Delhi to be with him. However, they revealed that his hospitalisation at the time was not related to cancer. Later, on April 29, he was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai yet again, after he complained of uneasiness. The actor passed away on April 30 and his sudden death came as a shock to family, friends, and the entire film fraternity.

Pic: Instagram