CHINTU

Yesterday while I mourned the death of Irrfan, today the news of Rishi Kapoor passing away extends the gloom in this already depressing situation of lockdown. Both of them were suffering from terminal diseases and actually living precariously at the edge of death. But still, their demise is sad for moviegoers as well as their families and friends.
The reaction to the news of  Irrfan's death was more out of respect for his body of work and the versatility shown on the screen and the realisation that we have lost a superlative actor. In the case of Rishi Kapoor, it was more of an emotional bond that ruptured. Irrfan appealed to a more mature part of the consciousness as my experience of the full range of his acting abilities as well in my forties. But with Rishi Kapoor, it was something else. We called him Chintu. He was a part of my growing up. Ever since I started reading newspapers and magazines, I was aware of him as a filmstar. Ever since I started listening to the songs on radio consciously, I was humming his " Hum tum Ek Kamre Mein Bandh Ho". He is an indelible part of memories as a teenager. His looks, hairstyle, dog collared shirts, bell-bottomed trousers, large brown  GoGo sunglasses, jackets, shoes were all style quotient for us. His romance with Neetu Singh and subsequent marriage was the best real love story we aspired for.
And on-screen, he exuded that charisma which creates stars. He came from the so-called first family of Bollywood and definitely fortunate to get a break from the family banner with Bobby. But he proved his worth in numerous films after films. In fact, I watched Bobby quite late. The first film of Chintu that I saw on the screen was "Kabhi Kabhie ", in 1976. That was also my first movie without the knowledge of family and after bunking class. But it was Laila Majnoon which I watched in 1977 that made me a real Deewana of this guy. In one week, I watched the movie more than three and a half times. It was like this, during the summer of 77, I went to my mother's place in Suri, a small town. Those days, as you may all know or recollect,  the electricity supply was quite erratic, and " load shedding" was a way of life. Now the Chaitali Talkies in Suri didn't have a generator or maybe it was also quite a rickety one ( I can't recollect). So if during a show, the electricity supply was disrupted for more than half an hour, the show was canceled and patrons had the option to watch the same movie on a different day with the preserved counterfoil. Can't imagine this now, huh? But this was life and this was the craze for movies we had. Chintu was a big part of it.
Then I remember, while coming back from the same place to Jamshedpur, by a bus to Kharagpur first, I had purchased a copy of Screen at Durgapur to while away time. I don't know if the magazine still exists, but in those times it was the gazette of Bollywood. A special feature was full-page advertisements of films. On that magazine, on the final page was the advertisement for " Hum Kisise Kum Nahin". And a few days thereafter when the same movie hit the cinema hall, I watched it first-day first show at Jamshedpur Talkies. My shirt got torn in the melee to procure a ticket, that too under " Student concession" which meant a separate counter for College students by showing their identity cards. Can't believe this too? Well, this too was life and our full-on obsession with movies. Chintu was a part of it.
I can name a number of his movies which I watched and clapped, whistled, sitting in the front stalls. Hits like Amar Akbar Anthony, Karz, Doosra Aadmi, Naseeb, Sagar, Prem Rog, or others like Khel Khel Mein, Rafoochakkar, Barood, Zehreela Insaan, Rangeela Ratan, all during those days. He was a hero whom I admired even as the cult of the angry young man was spreading fast. Perhaps he appealed to the fun-loving , bubbly, romantic part of a callow teenager that I was.
With time, maturity (?), and exposure, my tastes and world view changed, and gradually the fixation with Chintu also diminished. But I always maintained my admiration for him, even till his Deewana, Chandni, Damini stage of career. The famous Kapoor khandan paunch caught up with him and he was no more suitable for the lead hero role running around the trees. There was a hiatus and he came back with a lot of weight, both physically and acting-wise. As a character actor, he was a revelation. Perhaps his second avatar as a character actor was more satisfying from the acting point of view, both for him and the audience. His negative roles in Agneepath and D-Day were really awesome. So were his roles in Fanaa, Namastey London, Mulk, and other so many movies.
In the last years of his life, he was an active Twitterati. His irreverent, frank, and straight from the heart comments and posts were the subject of a good amount of discussion and trolling. He never hid his darker side or frailties as a human being. And, he never stopped calling the spade a spade. Despite many controversies, some amount of inappropriate behaviours in public under intoxication ( a widely known fact), and many barbed comments, he remained a lovable personality without rancours. His stardom was all-encompassing.
I read his autobiography Khullam Khulla co-authored by him and it is quite a frank recording of his life and times, including some episodes in the life of his father, wife, and co-stars. He described himself as - Son of a famous father, father of a famous son. But surely his fame was also in no way less than both his son and his late father. More than that the love I have for him and the thought that I will really miss him.