From 'Bobby' to 'Mulk': Rishi Kapoor's iconic films over the years

India mourns today the loss of another gem from its Hindi film industry- Rishi Kapoor. The 67-year-old actor breathed his last in Mumbai on Thursday after a prolonged battle with cancer. 

The actor leaves behind a huge repertoire of films spanning over a five decades. From 'Bobby' to 'Mulk' he proved he is one of the most charming, effervescent actors of Indian cinema. Here, have a look at some these classic films.

 

Rishi Kapoor made his acting debut as a child artist playing the younger version of his father Raj Kapoor's character in the 1970 film 'Mera Naam Joker'. In the movie he played a character of Raju, a teenager who develops a likeness for his teacher Mary and often stalks her in secret. 

Rishi Kapoor was always the eternal romantic hero. While he was part of some of the most memorable love stories, Yash Chopra 'Chandni' always stand out for its story, performances, and soulful songs. Released in 1989, the film featured Sridevi, Vinod Khanna along with Kapoor.

Manmohan Desai's ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ defines the era of the 70s in Bollywood perfectly. It is the story of three brothers who get separated in their childhood and are brought up by three different families belonging to different faiths – Hindu, Islam, and Christianity respectively. In the movie, he played  Akbar Ilahbadi a Qawwali singer. The film is considered one of the most iconic films of all times and also featured Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna in titular roles.

Raj Kapoor’s directorial, ‘Bobby’ was one of the top-grossing Indian films of all time after its release. It marked Rishi Kapoor's debut as a leading hero. He had by that time already made cameo appearances in ‘Mera Naam Joker’ and ‘Shree 420’. The story was a teenage love drama that revolved around two teenagers – Raj and Bobby. While Raj belongs to a well-to-do family, Bobby is the daughter of Raj’s tutor. Dimple Kapadia also made her debut in this film.

'Karz' is said to be the turning point of Rishi Kapoor's career, as he played a dual role of Ravi, and twenty years later as Monty who discovers the shocking truth about his past life when he was killed by his gold-digger wife.Complete with memorable songs and a thrilling plot, the film, directed by Subhash Ghai, attained cult status in later years.

Rishi Kapoor's another gem had him paired opposite Jaya Prada.The movie gave us the famous song 'Dafli Wale'. In the movie he played the role of a musician, Raju, who helps a young woman, who is unable to hear or speak to express through dance and achieve her goal of becoming a dancer.

 

We all loved Rishi Kapoor as the fun 90 year old grandfather in Shakun Batra's 'Kapoor and Sons'.  It was a joyfulll new-age family delight and had Kapoor playing perhaps on of the most obnxious yet hilarious characters of all times.

A poignant film on the biases that one has in the society, Anubhav Sinha's 'Mulk' had top performances by Rishi Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu and Manoj Pahwa. In the movie he played a character of Murad Ali Mohammed who along with his daughter-in-law try to prove their innocence after their family gets accused of having ties with extremist groups when Mohammed's son joins a terrorist outfit.