15 Lesser-Known Facts About Rishi Kapoor Bollywood Original Chocolate Boy

Rishi Kapoor, a name synonymous with romantic Bollywood movies, had a career spanning almost 50 years. A veteran actor who has always been seen doing romantic movies has undoubtedly won many hearts. From playing an immature and infatuated youth in Mera Naam Joker (1970) to nailing the role of an impish 90-year-old in Kapoor and Sons (2016), he had a lot of experience under his wings. In fact, back in the 1980s, Rishi had already carved out a niche for himself which was romantic musical films. The evergreen actor gave us a lot to watch and reminisce about.

Here are some lesser-known facts about Rishi Kapoor:

1. Rishi Kapoor was born on 4th September 1952 in Chembur, Mumbai

2. Rishi Kapoor family

Rishi Kapoor was born into the Kapoor family. His father was the famous Bollywood personality Raj Kapoor and his mother was Krishna Raj Kapoor who was also a director and producer.

3. Rishi Kapoor educational qualification

Rishi Kapoor completed his schooling at the Campion School Mumbai and thereafter studied at Mayo College, Ajmer.

4. Rishi hated his nickname

Rishi was often endearingly referred to as Chintu by his friends. According to interviews, he hated the nickname, Chintu. He was also known in Nigeria and was referred to as “Mace”. It means “woman” because, in several of his films, he was dressed as a lady.

5. The veteran actor’s family background

Rishi Kapoor was not the only one who landed good roles in Bollywood from Kapoor’s, rather he had a complete Bollywood background. His grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor is viewed as the pioneer of the Industry. Rishi Kapoor was the second child among 5 children of Raj Kapoor and Krishna Raj Kapoor.

6. Rishi’s first appearance in Bollywood

Rishi Kapoor first appeared in the movie Shree 420 at the mere age of 3 years old. The movie had a song named Pyaar Hua, Iqraar Hua, which starred Raj Kapoor and Nargis Dutt. He was seen walking along with two other kids in that movie. He had another funny story to share regarding that. Apparently, he had to be bribed with chocolates to play the role in the movie.

7. His debut movie

Rishi Kapoor’s debut movie as an adult was Mera Naam Joker which was released in the year 1970, where he played the role of an immature child who was infatuated with his teacher. He played the childhood role of Raj Kapoor who was the lead actor in the movie.

8. Rishi Kapoor the original chocolate boy

Ranbir Kapoor’s dad, Rishi Kapoor, was the original chocolate boy of Bollywood. Given his endearing appearance, Rishi was destined to play a romantic hero from the beginning of his career. After his debut in Raj Kapoor’s superhit film Bobby, there was no turning back.

9. His superhit movie

In 1973, Rishi Kapoor played the lead actor in the movie Bobby opposite Dimple Kapadia which shook the box office for weeks. Though most people already presumed that the movie was launched to give him the lead role and push him into the Bollywood industry, the actual story is something very different. According to one of his interviews, Rishi Kapoor said that his father wanted to make a romantic film but they didn’t have the budget to star Rajesh Khanna in the role. That’s how Rishi came into the whole picture, though we must admit that he did a terrific job at it.

10. He won his first Filmfare Best Actor award in the year 1974, for the superhit movie Bobby

11. Rishi Kapoor movies

Rishi Kapoor has undoubtedly worked in many a movie both as a solo actor as well as a supporting actor. Some of his famous works are- Bobby, Rafoo Chakkar, Laila Majnu, Sargam, Karz, Prem Rog, Chandani, Nagina, Henna, Bol Radha Bol, Damini. In the 2000s Rishi Kapoor did a lot of movies as a supporting actor. In fact, he won an award for Best Supporting Role for his terrific acting in Kapoor & Sons.

12. Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia were rumoured to be dating but reportedly their relationship didn’t last for long

13. Rishi Kapoor marriage

On 22nd January 1980, Rishi Kapoor tied the knot with his co-star Neetu Singh. They worked opposite each other in at least twelve movies from 1973 to 1981. Later, the couple was blessed with two kids Ridhima Sahani and Ranbir Kapoor who is also a well-known actor in Bollywood.

14. Rishi Kapoor bought an award once

In his autobiography ‘Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored’, Rish Kapoor confessed in 2017, that he purchased the Best Actor Award for Rs. 30,000 the year Bobby was released.

15. Rishi Kapoor death

He got diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in the year 2018 and was receiving treatment in the US. After his 11 months of treatment were successful, he returned back to India on 26th September 2019.
But unfortunately on 29th April 2020, he had to be admitted to the hospital again as he faced difficulty in breathing. He was admitted to Sir H N Reliance Foundation hospital where He took his last breath on 30th April 2020.