Hardly we have finished the first quarter of this year and looks like we are already done with 2020. First, the global pandemic, which took and is still taking the lives of thousands of people, then on April 29, 2020, Irrfan Khan left for his heavenly abode. And now, on April 30, 2020, morning, everyone woke up to the news of veteran actor, Rishi Kapoor passing away at the age of 67 as his cancer relapsed. Now we can officially tag 2020 to be the worst year ever! (Also Read: Remembering Rishi Kapoor And Neetu Kapoor's Love Story, He Invited His Mom-In-Law To Live With Them)
Shattering millions of hearts, Rishi Kapoor breathed his last at the HN Reliance hospital with wife, Neetu Kapoor and son, Ranbir Kapoor by his side. Here’s an official statement from the family, “Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45 am IST in hospital today after a two-year battle with leukemia. The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last. He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him.”
It can be further read as “He was grateful for the love of his fans that poured in from the world over. In his passing, they would all understand that he would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears. In this hour of personal loss, we also recognise the world is going through a very difficult and troubled time. There are numerous restrictions around movement and gathering in public. We would like to request all his fans and well-wishers and friends of the family to please respect the laws that are in force. He would not have it any other way.”
It was in November 2019 when Rishi Kapoor was last spotted with his family at a restaurant in Mumbai. Rishi Kapoor along with Neetu Kapoor, their daughter, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, son, Ranbir Kapoor and granddaughter, Samara Sahni. The Kapoor clan was all smiles for the shutterbugs and today, we are heartbroken to believe that we won’t see Mr Kapoor smiling for his fans anymore. Since Rishi ji and Neetu ji's daughter, Riddhima lives in Delhi, she had asked for permission to travel to Mumbai due to the lockdown. According to a report by NDTV, Riddhima had asked the Union Home Ministry last night for permission to fly to Mumbai by a chartered flight. A senior police officer had said, "She sought permission late at night. We had it within minutes." Due to the lockdown, trains, buses and flights are banned, so, Riddhima is reportedly driving to Mumbai from Delhi, which will take around 18 hours. (Also Read: Irrfan Khan's Brother, Imran On His Demise Says, His 'Bhaijaan' Has Gone Up To Meet Their 'Ammi')
In an interview with ZoomTV, Rishi Kapoor’s brother, Randhir Kapoor had thrown some light on the 67-year-old actor’s relapse of cancer and had said, "He is serious but he is better now. That's all I want to say. His cancer has come back but he is better right now. As a family, we are extremely stressed out. We lost our sister, we lost our mother, we are praying for the best. We are greatly stressed out. He is serious but doctors are saying he is much better now.” When asked when Rishi Kapoor had gotten admitted to the hospital, Randhir Kapoor had retorted, "Late last night. There were rumours about the actor being admitted at the hospital for 3 weeks earlier. He had been at home. The relapse has come now. We are extremely stressed out as a family and we are praying for him all the time. He is serious but he is better at this moment and I hope he gets out of it."
About the relapse of cancer, Randhir Kapoor had continued, "Cancer had relapsed. They have requested as a family to not come up. Only Neetu and Ranbir are beside him. They have told me not to come up because of coronavirus to safeguard me and safeguard the others." Revealing how he is doing, Randhir ji had added, "Greatly stressed out but I am cooperating with everybody. I haven't stepped out of my house for the last 40 days. And this has now come on our head. We are a very close-knit family and we are terribly stressed out. We can't go to the hospital, we can't go to Neetu. The family can't be together, she can't come here but I hope things will be better. I would ask him fans and everybody to pray for him. Ranbir is very stressed out because of his father." (Also Read: Irrfan Khan Saw His Mom, Saeeda Begum In His Last Moments And Said This To His Wife, Sutapa Sikdar)
Rest in peace, Rishi ji, until next time…
