Neetu Kapoor's Friend Bhawana Somaaya On How Rishi Kapoor Evolved From "Big Bully"

Bhawana Somaaya shared this image. (courtesy bhawanasomaaya )

Film critic and journalist Bhawana Somaaya, who happens to be a close friend of Neetu Kapoor, shared a set of Instagram posts, in which she chronicled how she became friends with late actor Rishi Kapoor, who she initially thought to be a "big bully." Ms Somaaya revealed that her and Neetu Kapoor's friendship goes way back to 1970. She revealed that she "wasn't particularly fond of" Neetu Kapoor's then boyfriend Rishi Kapoor. She added that her first impression of the Bobby actor was that of a "big bully." However, post Neetu and Rishi Kapoor's marriage in 1980, her perception of the actor changed and for good. She wrote in her post "I wasn't particularly fond of Kapoor in the good old days. He was a big bully and intimidating everybody without provocation. I often complained about him to Neetu and she always maintained that his arrogance was a facade. She was madly in love with him and whenever she traveled outdoors, she asked me to keep an eye on her boyfriend. Not that I did but that was her way of warning her beloved that he was being watched in her absence. This irritated him naturally and he looked for opportunities to fight with me."

Later in her post, Ms Somaaya talked about the drastic change in Rishi Kapoor's behaviour post his marriage and that he "suddenly dropped all hostility" towards her. She added that the star would often show concern as to why she wouldn't visit her best friend anymore. When Rishi Kapoor finally bumped into Bhawana Somaaya during a shoot, he flashed a bright smile and said, "Meri biwi ki dost hai toh ab meri bhi dost banti hai."

Read Bhawana Somaaya's post here:

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#http://bhawanasomaaya.com/rishi-kapoor-70s-80s-day-1798/ When I became a journalist Neetu Singh was the first film friend I made way back in the 70s. We clicked in the very first meeting and have remained friends over the decades. I would often visit her home in Bandra and on her sets, where ever she was shooting. I was familiar with her family and her staff and whenever we met, we had a lot to talk about, which included her boyfriend at that time, Rishi Kapoor. I wasn't particularly fond of Kapoor in the good old days. He was a big bully and intimidating everybody without provocation. I often complained about him to Neetu and she always maintained that his arrogance was a facade. She was madly in love with him and whenever she traveled outdoors, she asked me to keep an eye on her boyfriend. Not that I did but that was her way of warning her beloved that he was being watched in her absence. This irritated him naturally and he looked for opportunities to fight with me. In 1980 when Neetu and he got married however, Rishi Kapoor suddenly dropped all hostility towards me. He was concerned why I was no more coming home to meet his wife and family and now when he bumped into me suddenly at a shooting, he made it a point to smile and say, 'meri bibi ki dost hai toh ab meri bhi dost banti hai..' To be continued... @bhawanasomaaya #neetukapoor #riddhimakapoorsahni #ranbirkapoor #aliaabhatt #rimajain #dabookapoor #kareenakapoor #karismakapoor #sanjna.junoon #rishikapoor #bollywood #kssanjay #pammibakshi #sunitakapoor

A post shared by Bhawana Somaaya (@bhawanasomaaya) on May 3, 2020 at 11:37pm PDT

In a separate entry, she recalled a party hosted by the Kapoors at their Mumbai residence in the Eighties. She shared pictures from the private screening, where Neetu Kapoor was the ice breaker between Rishi Kapoor and Bhawana Somaaya. One of the pictures features Ms Somaaya with Rishi Kapoor, while another one has Neetu Kapoor with daughter Riddhima in the frame. She wrote: "There were a lot of guests that evening and Neetu had to attend to all of them, so when she got busy with others she put Rishi Kapoor in charge of me. By this time, we had dropped our guards but were still not comfortable in each other's company and therefore when Neetu joined us after a few moments, both of us heaved a sigh of relief." She signed off the post saying, "To be continued..."

Take a look at her Instagram post here:

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Part 2 Rishi Kapoor/ 80s-90s Blog day 1799 In the 80s Neetu and Rishi had moved out of RK Bungalow in Chembur and were living independently in Pali Hill, Bandra but they were always there at RK Studio and home for a family occasion. The pictures below are at one such party held at #RK lawns post a private screening. Neetu was sporting a new haircut those days and the restless baby holding her hand is daughter Riddhima. There were a lot of guests that evening and Neetu had to attend to all of them, so when she got busy with others she put #RishiKapoor in charge of me. By this time we had dropped our guards but were still not comfortable in each other's company and therefore when Neetu joined us after a few moments, both of us heaved a sigh of relief. To be continued...

A post shared by Bhawana Somaaya (@bhawanasomaaya) on May 4, 2020 at 9:43pm PDT

Neetu Kapoor too shared a similar school of thought as her friend when she first met Rishi Kapoor. On Suhaana Safar With Annu Kapoor last year, Neetu Kapoor described her first meeting with Rishi Kapoor as "horrible" and added, "I had a horrible first meeting with Rishi Kapoor. He had a habit of bullying, so he would comment on my make-up and clothes, and I'd feel so angry. He was actually a brat who would bully everyone and I was very young at that time. I used to be furious with him."

Rishi and Neetu Kapoor met on the sets of the 1974 film Zehreela Insaan. They got married in 1980. Rishi and Neetu Kapoor co-starred in films like Khel Khel Mein, Rafoo Chakkar, Kabhie Kabhie, Amar Akbar Anthony, Duniya Meri Jeb Mein and Zinda Dil, among many others. After their marriage, the actors worked together in films like Love Aaj Kal, Do Dooni Chaar, Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Besharam, which also starred their son Ranbir Kapoor.

Rishi Kapoor died at the age of 67 in a Mumbai hospital on Thursday. He was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and flew to New York for treatment. He returned to Mumbai last September after having spent nearly a year in the US. He is survived by his wife Neetu Kapoor, son Ranbir and daughter Riddhima. His last project was the 2019 film The Body. The actor had also signed a project with Deepika Padukone, which was to be a remake of Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro's The Intern.