Bollywood Flashback: The spellbinding love story of Rishi Kapoor-Neetu Singh is here to stay!

When you talk about the charmers of the infamous Golden Era, then Rishi Kapoor- Neetu Singh’s names are sure to hit your mind by default. And why not? For he was considered as the romantic sensation and a brilliant actor for the peer group that has matured with films like Bobby, Khel Khel Mein, Karz, Amar Akbar Anthony. Neetu Singh, on the other hand, was a dreamy-bubbly actress who dazzled the breezy musicals of the 1970s. Together they are regarded as one of the most iconic onscreen and off screen pairs who’ve played the opposite leads in twelve films. Rishi Kapoor broke a million hearts when he decided to get engaged to Neetu Singh at a family gathering in Delhi. And In this week’s segment, let’s revisit their endearing journey, which if we may add is still going rock solid.

How did the romance begin?

To begin with, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh had a very filmy love story. It was never the ‘Love at first sight’ kind of a feeling for either of them. Apparently, it was during the shoot of Bobby that Rishi first met Neetu who was working on a different film. One was easily termed the Casanova of that time and other was brought up in as simple a manner as possible. It’s said that Rishi was quite smitten by Neetu’s child-like personality while the latter was star-struck like most other women in the country at the time!

The first time they came together on-screen was for the film Zehreela Insaan. Chintu, as he’s known to his closed ones, was quite a prankster and loved teasing the young Neetu on sets. He would smear her face with kajal just when she’d completed her makeup. It was then when they fell for each other, only realizing it much later when the ‘Bobby‘ star went on for a shoot of some different movie. The long distance soon made Rishi feel the absence of this chirpy actress, following which he even sent her a telegram that read ‘Ye Sikhni badi yaad aati hai.‘ Love blossomed and grew stronger between them before anyone could know. “Eventually, I began to realize that Neetu is the one for me as I began to miss her when I had gone to Europe for a shoot. Ironically, I sent her a telegram from Europe to Kashmir saying that I was thinking of her,” Rishi once revealed on a talk show.

Taking it to the next level: Marriage

Their tender romance taking a positive course of marriage is quite a story in itself. It was during the release of Rishi’s movie ‘Jhoota Kahin Ka’ that he got engaged to his love Neetu in Delhi. Rishi had checked-in to a hotel in Delhi for a relative’s engagement with his family and it happened to be the same hotel, wherein Neetu was staying with her mother.

Without even dropping any hint of what she was up to, Rishi’s sister Ritu, who knew about the budding relationship between the couple, went to meet Neetu’s mom and decided that they both get engaged. Raj Kapoor like any other respectable elder member of the family proceeded towards Neetu’s mom with a marriage proposal of their children. Everything got finalized in a blink of an eye and the couple finally got engaged. It was indeed ‘Ek Mein Aur EK Tu, Dono Mile iss Tarah‘ for this beautiful pair. Speaking about her relationship with Rishi, Neetu once quoted,”I got to see the world through Rishi’s eyes because I started dating him when I was just 14, and at 21 we were married. I was a child whereas he was well-travelled and had seen the world.”

They got married soon after and together became proud parents to daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni (blissfully married and settled in Delhi) and son Ranbir Kapoor ( a notable name of Hindi Cinema today).

Twists-turns and Happily ever after..

Like every love story, Rishi-Neetu’s journey never bore any rose-tinted illusion of love. This spunkiest couple has had its own fine share of tiffs and troubles. The Kapoor family was known to be very strict in regard of their bahu. Neetu was expected to leave the industry and become a housewife which she gladly accepted. She even went to the extent of returning all her signing amounts and left the industry for good. Some people claimed that Neetu was forced into an early retirement. But, she hit back saying it was her personal choice and Rishi was always a very supportive husband. “Rishi can’t do without me for even a minute. That’s why I didn’t act in movies any longer. He never stopped me. I wanted to devote all my life to my family. Rishi would take us out on weekends and family vacations.” said the Rafoo Chakkar actress.

In the late 1990’s, some gossipmongers carried reports of domestic violence complaint being filed by Neetu against Rishi. Some also reported that Neetu had left her husband. However, putting the rumor mills to rest, Neetu returned to the Kapoor household and took care of her husband and children. Years later, Neetu said in an interview, “There always comes a phase in a couple’s life when there would be friction, disagreements. Rishi and I also went through that stage. Fortunately, we were able to sort out our differences. Today, everything is forgotten.”

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