September 16, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Rishi Kapoor, his wife Neetu Singh, and son Ranbir, are planning to come together in a film together which, apparently, Ranbir will direct.
Confirming his allegiance to a complete family film on his birthday on Saturday, September 4th, Rishi Kapoor says, “Why only me and Ranbir together? It has to be Neetu as well. We’ll only do a film together if all three of us are in it.”
As Rishi Kapoor turned 58 on Saturday, he triggered off a minor family feud. Apparently both his children, Ranbir Kapoor, who is in Prague, and daughter Riddhima from Delhi, called at the stroke of midnight. Both insisted on wishing their father first and wouldn’t hear any protest from their sibling.
Laughs the yesteryear’s matinee idol. “Yes, both my children called at the stroke of midnight and were fighting with each other on my mobile and Neetu’s about who will wish me first.”
Then he grumbles in true Rishi Kapoor style, “What birthday, yaar? If I worked in a government job I’d have to retire now. Waise to birthday roz manaate hain, daroo to roz peete hain… I went to the temple spent time with my wife, mother and my loyal staff at R K Studios who, to my embarrassment, made me cut a cake…Wish the kids were here.”
Rishi seems to have a lot of young fans. He says, “I’m surprised at how many youngsters connect with me on Facebook. I sometimes suspect they want to connect with me only so they can get in touch with my son. But these kids insist they are my fans, and so are their mothers.”
Ranbir will come together with his dad Rishi… but only on the condition that mom Neetu Singh is also in the film.
Reasons Rishi, “Why only me and Ranbir? It has to be Ranbir, Neetu and me. All three of us have to be together. I am not doing any father-son film with Ranbir. They’ve been done to death. We’ve both been approached to work together. But either he rejects the script or I do.”
Ranbir wants to produce the film and direct himself and his father together. Says Rishi, “Yes, because my father Raj Kapoor directed his father Prithviraj Kapoor and himself, Ranbir wants to direct himself and me. But Ranbir doesn’t have dates till the end of next year. Rock Star will continue shooting till January 2011. In February, Anurag Basu’s film (Silence) will start.”
Now Rishi Kapoor is planning an autobiography. “The only problem is, I’ll have to lie a lot in it. I have never hurt anybody. And I don’t have to cover for any relationships because I’ve never had any (besides Neetu). Still there are people who might get hurt by what I write, I can’t do what Vyjanthimala did in her autobiography. She lied in it about her relationship with my father. My brother Randhir and I had borne the brunt of that relationship. How could she lie to the world?”
— Subhash K Jha / Sampurn Wire
