Bollywood choreographer and filmmaker Farah Khan recently visited Riddhima Kapoor Sahni’s house in Delhi for her cooking vlog with Dilip, where she reminisced about her friendship and professional bond with the late Rishi Kapoor. During the conversation, Farah recalled breaking down on a call with Rishi after learning about his cancer diagnosis and how his positive attitude left a lasting impression.
Farah shared, “I remember when I got the news, I called Chintu and started crying on the phone, and he was so positive, he kept saying, ‘are chup beth yaar hota rehta hai, kuch nahi hai, main theek hojaaunga (Hey, calm down, yaar. These things happen, it’s nothing, I’ll be fine).’” Her emotional recollection highlighted Rishi’s resilience and unwavering optimism even in the face of serious illness.
She also recalled their early on-set interactions, saying, “The last film that Chintu (Rishi Kapoor) did as a hero, Hum Dono, was one of my first movies as a choreographer. He tried to bully me left and right. Then I had to give it back to him. And once you do that, he’s fine. Plus, he worked with my dad in Raffuchakkar.”
Riddhima Kapoor Sahni also reflected on the challenges during her father’s illness, noting, “I never left Samara for three years. The first time I ever left Samara was when Dad got sick. Before Covid, when he was diagnosed.”
Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2018 and spent nearly a year in New York for treatment. He returned to India in 2019 and resumed work, but his health declined again in early 2020. On 30 April 2020, Rishi Kapoor passed away at the age of 67 after battling cancer, leaving behind a legacy of memorable performances.