Remembering Rishi Kapoor: Ranbir Kapoor’s memories of dad, from taking reference for Animal to having crab on Fridays

Late superstar Rishi Kapoor often shared that he felt there was a glass wall between him and his second-born, Ranbir Kapoor. In fact, he believed that he screwed up his relationship with his son. After Rishi’s untimely demise at the age of 67 in 2020 from a recurrence of leukemia, Ranbir also stated that he regrets not being friends with his father. Even though Ranbir has revealed they were not as close as he is to his mother Neetu Kapoor, the actor and his sister Riddhima Kapoor Sahni have several fond memories of their dad. Take a look: Ranbir Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor with Rishi Kapoor in New York during his treatment

Took Rishi as a reference for Animal

At the trailer launch of his blockbuster Animal, Ranbir revealed that during his time on set, he subconsciously remembered his father. The actor explained that Rishi was ‘very passionate and aggressive’, which is what Ranbir took as a reference for his fierce character Ranvijay Singh Balbir in the Sandeep Reddy Vanga film

HT launches Crick-it, a one stop destination to catch Cricket, anytime, anywhere. Explore now!

Ranbir took reference from his father Rishi for his character in Animal

Rishi Kapoor: The OG troll

Recently on an episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show, Ranbir joked that even before social media came into being, his father was the ‘original troll’. Remembering fun evenings from his childhood, the actor shared that Rishi would call up his younger sister after two drinks of ‘lemonade’ and tease her while Neetu, Ranbir and Riddhima sat in front of him like an audience. Rishi, the second son of Raj Kapoor and Krishna Kapoor, would then get scolded by his mother on the phone. The Animal star called this a daily routine

The Kapoor clan at their annual Christmas brunch

Fridays were for crab

Rishi was a true foodie who especially enjoyed non-vegetarian delicacies. A few years ago during an interview, Ranbir remembered how his late father would take the family to a particular restaurant every Friday when he and Riddhima were younger. There, they would have one crab each along with steamed mantou buns. Now that is one delicious memory to hold onto forever

When Rishi gave Ranbir a tapli

As Indians, we are used to getting a light smack from our parents every now and then. Well, Ranbir recently revealed that Rishi never raised his hand on his children except for one occasion, during a Diwali puja at RK Studios. The actor recalled that he was 8-9 years old and had walked into the temple wearing slippers. He received a ‘tapli’ on his head from his incredibly religious father

A precious throwback snap of Ranbir and Rishi

Walks to the hospital

In 2018 after being diagnosed with leukemia, Rishi travelled to New York to seek treatment. During that one year in the big apple, the veteran actor built a stronger relationship with his son. Remembering their time together, which he will cherish forever, Ranbir shared that he saw a ‘human side’ to his father. He recalled how they would walk down to the hospital from their apartment, just the two of them, every day for months when Rishi was getting chemotherapy. More than their conversations, it was the silent moments and the time they spent together that brought the whole family closer together

Rishi and Ranbir on the streets of New York

Apart from his magnificent filmography, Rishi Kapoor continues to live on in our hearts through the beautiful memories he left behind.