Randhir Kapoor on losing brothers Rishi Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor in 1 year: ‘My two hands are gone’

The past few years have been rough on Randhir Kapoor as he lost his two brothers Rishi and Rajiv, within nine months of each other. The actor called Rajiv 'the son he never had'.

The past two years have been particularly difficult for Bollywood actor Randhir Kapoor. He lost his brother Rishi Kapoor to cancer in 2020 and his younger brother Rajiv Kapoor passed away in February this year. Randhir feels that his ‘two hands are gone’. Contrary to popular perception, Randhir says that that the three brothers were a tight-knit group and he is finding it rather hard to come to terms with his life.

In an interview to Yahoo! India, Randhir expressed his anguish and reflected on his relationship with his brothers. “The past year has been tragic. This has been the saddest period of our lives – losing two brothers within a period of nine months. We’ve always remained a close knit family contrary to whatever maybe the general perception. We brothers were also best friends. We didn’t necessarily have to go out and meet anyone. We were happy amongst ourselves. We would drink, we would fight, we would make-up. We attended office together.”

He explained that he lived in constant fear regarding Rishi Kapoor’s cancer. He was worried that anything could happen, which was why he visited him often. Yet, he never thought Rajiv Kapoor will pass away so suddenly. “The dominant fear was that anything could happen to my brother Rishi. After all, he was suffering from cancer. We visited him turn by turn, when he was being treated in America. But no one imagined that Rajiv would pass away so soon,” explained Randhir Kapoor.

Randhir says that he feels ‘particularly sad’ about Rajiv Kapoor, as he didn’t taste the fame that his brothers did. “Rajiv and I lived together in our Chembur bungalow. I feel particularly sad for him as he didn’t achieve much success. Though his Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) was a blockbuster. Rajiv was extremely happy about doing Toolsidas Junior (Ashutosh Gowariker’s sports drama). I told him, ‘Behave yourself and don’t drink during the period you’re shooting.’ He didn’t touch alcohol during the entire spell. He was excited that he’d now be getting good character roles. But he couldn’t see it release! Magar woh jahan kahan hoga… he will be happy to see himself on screen.”

Calling Rajiv ‘the son he never had’, Randhir said, “It’s genuinely a huge loss for me. I remember him as a great guy, extremely talented, a loyal friend and brother. I will miss him forever.”

The years have been rough for the Kapoor family, as their iconic RK Studios burnt down back in 2017. Speaking about this, Randhir said, “Another thing that caused me deep pain was losing R.K.Studios. It was gutted and it didn’t seem worthwhile to restore it.”

Randhir is heartbroken that he doesn’t have any memorabilia left of Raj Kapoor, due to the fire. He said that they had preserved every photograph, costume from Aag in 1948 to Aa Ab Laut Chalein in 1999. He added, “I don’t even have a single award of Raj Kapoor. Nor a single photograph of his youth. Thousands of posters and photographs were kept in the publicity department… all were destroyed in the fire.”

Randhir Kapoor is now selling his Chembur house and is moving to Bandra, where his daughters Karisma and Kareena are. “After all, we Kapoors have cried there; we have laughed there. We deeply value family bonds. I miss Shammi (Kapoor) uncle, I miss Shashi (Kapoor) uncle equally. They were my friends. They’d ask me, ‘Who’s your latest girlfriend?’ Till date, we celebrate Christmas at Shashiji’s home because of Jennifer (Kapoor) aunty.”

Despite all the grief and loss, Randhir is determined to remain positive. He mentioned that he is living well in Bandra, and his daughters Karisma and Kareena take good care of him. Yet, he believes in God’s will to carry them through.

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