Rishi Kapoor Birthday Special: 10 Performances That Show His Second Innings Is His Riskiest, Subversive and the Most Enjoyable!

Rishi Kapoor is currently recuperating from cancer treatment, but there is some good news for all his fans. The actor is speedily traversing through the road of recovery, and he is all set to start shooting for his pending projects soon. Rishi Kapoor had taken a year-long break to go to the US for his treatment, with only the delayed Jhootha Kahin Ka releasing in the interim. With the actor all set to make a return, we are once again waiting for more excellent performance from the veteran star. The actor is celebrating his 67th birthday on September 4, so let's wish him Many Many Happy Returns of the Day! Rishi Kapoor Says Wife Neetu Kapoor Has Been a Rock in His Battle with Cancer.

Rishi Kapoor is a rare case of an actor, whose second innings as a performer is much better than his first. The middle son of Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor was the most successful among his siblings during his heydays as a lead actor. After making a mark as a young Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker, Rishi Kapoor (along with Dimple Kapadia) got a dream debut in the 1973 film Bobby, that was directed by his father and was a blockbuster hit. From 1973 to 1997, Rishi Kapoor's career as a leading man had seen its ups and downs. But the actor just couldn't escape his chocolate boy image that Bobby and his good looks gave him, though he tried to go dark with movies like Zahreela Insaan.

When his performances became repetitive in the later years and he was being overshadowed by the then-upcoming stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar et al, Rishi Kapoor took a break in 1997. He made his directorial debut with Aa Ab Laut Chalein under his family banner, but the movie tanked at the box office. In 2000, a much-delayed film, Karobaar, that had him as the leading man got released but it also failed to work.

In the same year, Rishi Kapoor returned to acting, but this time, he was ready to go into character artiste mode. This was an excellent move as we finally got to see the range of nuances in Rishi Kapoor's performances, that was seldom exploited in his leading man-days. If you feel sceptical about this, we have 10 such performances that came around this period, which will make you agree with us on this!

Namastey London

Rishi Kapoor plays Katrina Kaif's NRI father in the movie, who yearns to give her a desi husband. While his methods to do so aren't exactly recommended, the actor is quite cherubic in the role, especially in the rugby scene.

Luck by Chance

Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut is brilliant in a lot of ways, and is a terrific tribute to Bollywood with so many meta-references. Rishi Kapoor's Romi Rolly is one such fantastic thing about the film - a hotshot movie producer, who dissents anything that isn't masala, and who uses every roadblock he gets as stepping stone to success. He also has some of the best movie-insults in the film that range from 'Aey Film Institute' to 'Crocodile in a Chiffon Saree'!

Chintu Ji

It is a pity that this wonderful gem of a movie was overlooked after its release. It is a delightful satire with Rishi Kapoor playing a fictional version of himself - a pompous veteran star whose ego and malicious intent causes havoc in the hamlet where he goes for a shoot. It is not easy to poke fun at oneself, but Rishi Kapoor not only just does that, but also ekes out a memorable performance in the process.

Love Aaj Kal

Rishi Kapoor's character brings the old school romance in this Imtiaz Ali film, teaching Saif Ali Khan's no-frills character a thing or two about love. A very genial and likeable performance from the actor.

Do Dooni Chaar

As an honest school teacher who ends up in a whimsical situation, which also involves his family, Rishi Kapoor is quite a delight leading the show in this Habib Faisal film. Also, it is a treat to see him recreate the past onscreen chemistry with his real-life spouse, Neetu Singh in the movie.

Agneepath

Rishi Kapoor had played a serial killer in the Tusshar Kapoor-starrer Kucch Toh Hai, but he was very underused there. In the remake of Agneepath, Rishi Kapoor proved himself to be an excellent and enigmatic villain in what was a new role written for the movie. So much that his magnanimous presence even threatens to engulf Hrithik Roshan's Vijay Dinanath Chauhan and Sanjay Dutt's Kancha Cheena and remains one of the most talked-about aspects of the remake.

Student of the Year

Sure, Rishi Kapoor's portrayal of the gay principal in this Karan Johar film borders on stereotypes. But we can't help but smile when he crushes over the college coach (played by Ronit Roy) and fawns over John Abraham's pictures. And his performance in the climax is heart-breaking.

Aurangzeb

Another Rishi Kapoor film that deserves a bit more attention and love. Directed by Atul Sabharwal, this YRF movie is a taut thriller featuring Arjun Kapoor in a double role, Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran, Jackie Shroff and Amrita Singh. Rishi Kapoor plays a senior police officer, whose good-natured appearance is a facade for something dark and sinister. If you have seen the film, you would agree with me, if I say that this ranks among the actor's top five performances. Also, even though I have not included the film in this list, do watch out for Nikkhil Advani's underrated D-Day as well, where Rishi Kapoor was quite chilling as the main antagonist.

102 Not Out

Playing a 102 yo Amitabh Bachchan's character's 70-year old son, Rishi Kapoor is terrific as the grumpy old man waiting for his son to be in touch with him. The scene at the church where he reminisces about his child will tug your heartstrings, while the airport scene where he confronts his NRI son is applause-worthy.

Mulk

It is truly a travesty that Rishi Kapoor's excellent performance in last year's Mulk was ignored by the National Awards jury in 2019. The actor was phenomenal as the Muslim lawyer legally fighting stereotypes associated with his community, after his grandson was involved in a terrorist attack.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2019 12:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).