Neetu Kapoor opened up about her marriage dynamics with Rishi Kapoor, claiming that their fights used to go on for months, and how their kids, Ranbir Kapoor and Riddhima, were scared of him.
Neetu Kapoor and late actor, Rishi Kapoor were one of the most loved couples in the Bollywood industry. The duo tied the knot in 1980. Reportedly, at the time, Rishi was 28, while his wife was only 22. After her marriage, Neetu decided to step away from films, even though she was at the peak of her career, to focus more on her family life. The couple stayed together for nearly forty years, until Rishi passed away in 2020. Now, in a recent interview, Neetu opened up about the dynamics of their marriage and especially how they used to have a lot of fights.
During an episode of Soha Ali Khan's podcast, Neetu Kapoor spoke about how even though she has a calm nature, her late husband, Rishi Kapoor, was the only person she always fought with. Appearing with her daughter, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, on the podcast, Neetu admitted, "I used to only fight with my husband. My husband and I used to fight for months."
While describing Rishi as a strong-minded person, Neetu revealed that whenever they had disagreements, they would end in prolonged periods of silence. According to her, this was because Rishi would not easily listen to her point of view. And whenever this happened, Neetu revealed that she would give Rishi the cold shoulder until he started the conversation first. Recalling the time with a smile, she said, "I used to go on this cold war, and the cold war could go on for a month, six months. I would not bend till the time he didn't ask me, 'What's your problem?' And he would do that."
Neetu said that whenever she and Rishi were caught up in their fights, the latter would reach out to their two children, Ranbir Kapoor and Riddhima Kapoor Sahni. This was so that they could help him understand their mother's mood and what was bothering her. Neetu said:
“And then he would say, ‘Acha bata yaar, kya hai? What's your problem? Let's sort it out.’ I would say, now that you have come to me, now, you listen to me. Because otherwise, he would just not listen.”
Neetu also recalled how her mother-in-law used to joke about the long-silent spells between her and Rishi. Even though the duo had been married for over 30 years, her mother-in-law would say that they had only been married for 20 years because they hadn't spoken for 10 years. According to the actress, after every reconciliation, Neetu would encourage Rishi to follow a healthier lifestyle, including dieting and exercising.
However, he would only follow her instructions briefly before slipping back into his old habits. Apparently, Rishi Kapoor “would do everything because he wanted to be the good boy because he made up after 6 months.” She added that one of the reasons he would fall back to his old ways was that the older generation of the Kapoor family never really believed so much in stuff like fitness routines and dieting.
When reflecting on her relationship with Rishi, Neetu Kapoor said that she was around 14 or 15 years old when she met him for the first time, leading her to essentially grow up alongside him. She even confessed that she felt intimidated because Rishi Kapoor introduced her to a world that she had never experienced before. In her words:
“I got involved with him when I was 14-15, so I kind of grew up with him. He took me out, he showed me the world. He would take me to discotheques. He taught me how to have wine and all. I had not seen the world. Maybe I was very intimidated by him, and I would always try to make him happy.”
In the same interview, speaking about his parenting style, Neetu revealed that Rishi would intentionally maintain a bit of a distance from his children. This is because he believed that a father should command respect and fear. And he got exactly that as Neetu said, “They were sacred. There was that kind of a fear. He wanted that.”
What are your thoughts on Neetu Kapoor's revelations? Let us know.
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