Jackie Shroff remembers Rishi Kapoor: He is embedded deeply in my heart forever!

Rishi Kapoor’s sad demise was a major blow to the film industry. Loved ones, friends, family, and fans are already mourning the death of the beloved artist/Chintuji. Meanwhile, Jackie Shroff who shared a great camaraderie with the late actor off-screen. 

However, their wish to share the frame together remains unfulfilled despite having worked in films like Azaad Desh Ke Gulam (1990), Aurangzeb (2013), and Chalk n Duster (2016).

In an interview with Hindustan Times Shroff revealed how deeply he is saddened by Kapoor’s demise, Shroff shares, “Chintuji always used to tell me, ‘Jaggu dada, I want to do a film opposite you. We’ve worked together in so many movies but never faced each other on camera.’ Him being a senior to me and one of the finest actors of the industry, I so wanted to act with him. I feel sad that this wish never will come true now. We’ve lost a precious jewel of the crown.”

Reminiscing about the late actor, Shroff recalls the time when he first saw Kapoor and was awestruck by his personality and aura.

“I remember his film Bobby (1973) had released and he shot to fame overnight. I was hanging around the Pastry Palace in Mumbai and I saw him there for the first time. I was like, ‘Wao, Rishi Kapoor!’ I wasn’t an actor then and seeing a superstar was like a fan moment to me and I never knew that one day, we would share such great camaraderie,” recalls Shroff.

He further revealed loving everything about Kapoor and even acknowledged the late actor saying, 

I couldn’t do what he could. Neither I could dance like him nor romance.

- Jackie Shroff

“He would meet people with a big warm hug and was so jovial and always sharing good vibes. I could always feel that affection from a senior not just for myself but for Tiger (son, Tiger Shroff) as well. We would ring up and discuss Tiger’s performance in his recent movies. Coming from him really meant a lot to me,” added Shroff.

Now that Kapoor is gone, Shroff feels that this void can never be filled, and says, “He is embedded deeply in my heart forever.”

In 2018, Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer for the first time, following which the actor was in New York for nearly a year to undergo treatment. He returned to India in September 2019 after recovering.

However, the actor faced a cancer relapse and succumbed to death. Rishi is survived by his wife Neetu Kapoor and kids Ranbir Kapoor and Riddhima Kapoor Sahani.