Big Loss For Indian Cinema: Actor Rishi Kapoor Passes Away, Succumbs To Battle With Cancer

One of the most successful and legendary Bollywood superstars, Rishi Kapoor is no more. The actor breathed his last today with wife Neetu Kapoor by his side. He was admitted to Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai last night.

His elder brother, Randhir Kapoor had given a statement to media about Rishi Kapoor’s condition yesterday, “He is in the hospital. He is suffering from cancer and he has some breathing problems, so he has been admitted to the hospital. He is stable now,” Randhir Kapoor told a news agency. 

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The news of his demise was confirmed by his dearest friend and fellow actor Amitabh Bachchan, who wrote on Twitter, “He’s GONE .. ! Rishi Kapoor .. gone .. just passed away .. I am destroyed !”. The two shared a special friendship and have worked together in movies like Naseeb, Amar Akhbar Anthony, the latest one being 102 Not Out (2018). 

Rishi Kapoor’s family released a statement to the media, confirming that he passed away peacefully at 8:45 am today after a two-year battle with leukemia. “The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last. He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him,” read the statement. The family has also requested his fans to remember him with a smile and not tears as that’s exactly what the actor would want. Acknowledging that the world is going through a very difficult time due to coronavirus, his family also requested all his fans and well-wishers to please respect the laws around restricted movement.

Rishi Kapoor was first diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and he returned to India last September after undergoing treatment in New York for almost a year.

He started his career with Bobby in 1973 opposite Dimple Kapadia and won many hearts. The OG chocolate boy of Bollywood had completed almost 50 years in the Indian cinema. RIP, legend!

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