Neetu Kapoor's 'Holi' picture of Ranbir-Deepika makes fans nostalgic - Page 4

Starting life as a child star, Neetu Singh's world has revolved around her family. She has no regrets, says the actor...

I grew up with Rishi Kapoor
I got to see the world through Rishi's eyes because I started dating him when I was just 14😲, and at 21 we were married. I was a child whereas he was well-travelled and had seen the world. We had a huge wedding, it was the biggest in Bollywood at that time. Riddhima was born in the first year and then Ranbir the following year. I wanted to devote all my life to my family. Rishi would take us out on weekends and family vacations.

With more experience, there is more wisdom and maturity. To give up my career was my decision. I wanted a family. I was really tired of working, I had done almost 70 films in seven years of my career with three shifts everyday. I wasn't nervous as I had already got familiar with Rishi's family and knew them well.

I'm really lucky to be with the Kapoor family. It is a beautiful feeling. My in-laws have been wonderful and I guess I am a good daughter-in-law. My mother-in-law is more like a mother to me. In fact, she complains about her son to me. I think I have led a complete life. No regrets, absolutely.

There always comes a phase in a couple's life when there would be friction, disagreements. Rishi and I also went through that stage. It was just one of those problems which only the husband and wife would understand. Fortunately, we were able to sort out our differences. Today, everything is forgotten.

My mom, my mentor
I lived with my mother Rajee Singh even after I got married. Since she was alone, Rishi felt that she should live with us, which was really very gracious of him. She stayed away from me for just about one year in 72 years of her life, when I got married. There is a kind of emptiness in my life now; I keep looking at her pictures.

Riddhima, my daughter, was the closest to my mom, she called her nanu and Ranbir used to call her 'Fatty'. Ranbir and my mom had their rooms next to each other. He would just go into her room and tease her, 'Hi, Fats, how are you doing?' My mother was very bad at playing cards but still loved playing. I would go to her room, win about Rs 1,000 everyday. I would play for two to three hours and fleece her. When I would come home with friends during lunch break in school she would stop us from going back, instead she would want to take us for a movie. She was very strict but on the other hand was very chilled out, totally like a child.

She was a huge guiding force in my life. I got into acting when I was just five. My dad passed away when I was very young, maybe seven or eight. I was the only child, my mom was both father and mother to me. We were visiting Bombay, people found me bubbly, bright, talkative and I also loved dancing. I did one film and when I got more offers we moved from Delhi to Bombay. I supported her FINANCIALLY while she managed everything, including my finances. My earnings further added on, life was pretty okay.
My mom was extremely strict. There were times when I wanted her to let go but she never did so. Those days I would get irritated but today I value that as I never got a bad name.

Those were the days
My first film was Rickshawala (in 1972). Rishi became an overnight sensation with Bobby and Dimple got married soon after Bobby's release and all the movies she had signed fell into my lap. After Rickshawala, I signed Zehreela Insaan, Rafoo Chakkar... and many more films with Rishi. I was 14 when I met Rishi. My mom did not like it when she heard about our affair. She would get very upset when he would flirt with me. She didn't know whether he would get married to me. I had to convince her that I wanted to go on a date with Rishi, but she would send my cousin with me as a chaperone.

But when Rishi proposed to me and I broke the news of my wedding, mom was very happy for me. Despite the fact that I was the sole earning member, she said yes to my marriage right away. I was a top actor those days and was earning a lot. She knew that I would move out but did not say a word. She arranged my wedding in the most spectacular manner; she did her best she could as a single mom. Soon after, I announced my marriage, returned all my signing amounts and gave notices to all my producers that I would be getting married in a year's time. I had shot one scene of Manmohan Desai's Naseeb and it had to be re-shot.

Ranbir is my rock & Riddhima my friend
There is a great bonding between Ranbir and me. He looks like me, talks like me and temperamentally we are so much alike whereas Riddhima is like her father, in looks as well as nature. Ranbir is only 26 but he is very mature. He never gets angry and I sometimes worry about the emotion missing in him. Ranbir is also a sensitive boy, he understands why I or his dad behaved in a certain way; he is also a very supportive brother. Both of us are fighters. At 51, I'm slogging it out at the gym everyday, in a way I'm fighting it out, be it my weight issue, or menopause.

Riddhima and I are like friends since I was very young when I gave birth to her. I experienced that feeling of emptiness when Riddhima got married. After she left she sent a one-line sms to everyone "...look after my mom".

We follow a code in the family that whenever there is any problem between a husband and wife, they should sort it out themselves, nobody would interfere in their lives. I had told Riddhima, too, that she should never come with her problems to us.

I don't know Deepika
Ranbir is dating her so, as of now, they are together; she is there in his life. Deepika is a nice girl, but I don't know her that well, I have hardly met her. As long as he is happy, I'm fine. I can only give my opinion to Ranbir and Riddhima... it is their life.
(As told to Seema Sinha)