Neetu Kapoor Says She Took Up Films Because Rishi Kapoor Asked Her To

Veteran actress Neetu Kapoor says that she took up many films because her late husband, actor Rishi Kapoor wanted her to take them up. She said that she did them as a favour to him. 

In an interview with PTI, Kapoor said that she is looking forward to working more now as she doesn’t want to be alone and dwell on the past. “Today, my heart is saying, I want to work. I want to be busy, don't want to be alone, and think about the past. I want to be mentally occupied, travel, shoot, and do TV shows. I don't want to sit at home,” she was quoted as saying. 

The actress added that all this while she did not get to take up films of her choice as she was only trying to make her “husband happy”. “There were films that I did with my husband and I was like a chamchi (sycophant), he would say come and do it. Apni will se kuch nahi kiya (I did not do it off my own will). Jug Jugg Jeeyo is my will. I was doing (all that) trying to make my husband happy. Like, one shot in Love Aaj Kal, then with Do Dooni Chaar some actress didn’t want to be a mother of two older children, I don’t have those hang-ups. They requested and I did it. So, I was doing him a favour, not that I wanted to do,” she said.

Kapoor adds that her kids have also been encouraging her to work more. “It has been a ride for me, for the whole family. There is so much support for each other. We are keeping ourselves busy. My kids told me don’t sit at home, get busy. I don’t want to sit and think, and be sad. I want to be busy with work, meet people. Earlier, it was all about my husband and kids….All these years, I was receiving loads of offers. I didn’t feel like doing it because my world was busy, occupied, now my world is empty. I want to be busy. So, I am inviting work into my life.”

Neetu Kapoor, one of the biggest stars of the 1970s and 1980s, retired from acting at the age of 21 after marrying Rishi Kapoor in 1980. She appeared in a few recent films before returning to work full-time a year after Rishi's death in 2020.

Currently, the actress is preparing for the release of her film 'Jug Jugg Jeeyo.' Produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, the film also stars Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, and Kiara Advani in pivotal roles. Neetu Kapoor will make her first appearance on the big screen in seven years. She was most recently seen in 'Besharam,' in which she co-starred with Rishi and their son, actor Ranbir Kapoor.