When Rishi Kapoor fell flat on the feet of Rajkumar Hirani’s mother for Ranbir Kapoor’s sake!

By Fenil Seta -

July 24, 2018 - 11:18 AM IST

If there’s an actor who gives two hoots about ‘log kya kahenge’, then it’s surely Rishi Kapoor. The veteran actor is known to openly speak his mind and he’s also quite critical when required. This was seen last year when his son Ranbir’s long-delayed flick Jagga Jasoos was about to release. The actor made it clear to the world that he’s upset with director Anurag Basu for delaying the film multiple times and not showing it to anybody, including Ranbir who was also the film’s co-producer. Post-release, Rishi’s rants continued and he also blamed music director Pritam Chakraborty for delivering the songs just a week before the release.

When Rishi Kapoor fell flat on the feet of Rajkumar Hirani’s mother for Ranbir Kapoor’s sake!

In a recent interview to Mid-Day editor Mayank Shekhar, Ranbir Kapoor opened up about this aspect. He admitted that he felt for Anurag Basu and Pritam Chakraborty that they had to suffer such kind of criticism from his father. He also added that he’s too scared of Rishi Kapoor and hence didn’t confront him on this matter. By his own admission, he can’t look his father in the eye and that if he has any issues; he passes the message to him through his mother, actress Neetu Kapoor.

Ranbir however also revealed that Rishi Kapoor says these harsh words out of concern for him. And sometimes, he overdoes it and he proved this by giving another instance, which is sure to amuse people. The incident happened when blockbuster director Rajkumar Hirani had just delivered his second film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, in 2006. He had become a force to reckon with and a director who was on everybody’s wish list. One day, Rishi Kapoor happened to meet Hirani’s mother. He felt that Ranbir should work with a director of his stature as it’ll prove very beneficial. Hence, Rishi Kapoor did the unthinkable. He fell flat on Rajkumar Hirani’s mother’s feet! He then told her, "Your son is a genius, and I hope he works with my son at some point."

Thankfully, Rishi’s desire came true. Rajkumar Hirani at first signed Ranbir for a cameo in his 2014 blockbuster, PK, starring Aamir Khan in the lead role. Then Ranbir bagged Hirani’s next, Sanju, based on the controversial life of actor Sanjay Dutt. Released last month, Sanju enjoyed a positive word of mouth and has emerged as a blockbuster, earning more than Rs. 300 crore at the box office. It also ended the lull in the career of Ranbir Kapoor’s career and his infused new life into it.