Get to know an unplugged Rishi Kapoor in his book 'Khullam Khulla'

Rishi Kapoor is known for saying things as they are. He is not one to mince words; rather he voices his mind whether it is on his Twitter account or in any personal interaction. The actor recently launched his biography ‘Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored ‘ in Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi in conversation with Suhel Seth. Wife Neetu Kapoor, daughter Riddhima Sahni and son-in-law Bharat Sahni were also present at the launch.

Rishi Kapoor has regaled audiences for close to fifty years. He was the youth icon and then there was the second coming after a brief hiatus in the 1990s – and today, he has reinvented himself as one of the finest actors in mainstream Hindi cinema.

In his book Rishi Kapoor brings a Punjabi impudence to the writing. In this book he writes about growing up in the shadow of a legendary father, skipping school to act in Mera Naam Joker, the workings of the musical hits of the era, his streak of rotten luck with awards, an encounter with Dawood Ibrahim, his heroines (their working relationship, the gossip and the frisson that was sometimes real), his approach to his craft, his tryst with clinical depression, and much more.

At the launch of his book, Rishi made several confounding disclosures while interacting with the audiences. Talking about his Bollywood career, he said it was not that suave even for him despite of him being the son of Raj Kapoor. “People say I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Yes, I agree but what’s my fault in it? I may have not slept on pavements or gone hungry, but the struggles I faced were of a different kind”, he said.

Rishi also opened up about his father, the legendary Raj Kapoor, who he said loved his booze.  “For me Raj Kapoor was not only a father. He was my guru, whatever I am today is because of him. When we were kids we knew that we were children of someone very important because wherever we went people looked at us as Raj Kapoor’s sons”, he further added. Speaking about Ranbir Kapoor, he said “I never argued with my father and it so happened that unfortunately, the same kind of relationship passed on with me and Ranbir.  I am not the type of guy, who will ask him to share secrets of his girlfriends and all that. I think there must be some wall.”