Days after he was hospitalised in Delhi, veteran actor Rishi Kapoor has been admitted to a Mumbai hospital with viral fever, a source close to the family said Thursday.
The 67-year-old was admitted to a Mumbai hospital on Tuesday, the same day the actor went on Twitter to say he was back home and is doing ‘fine’.
The Kapoor family insider said, ‘He has been admitted to Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in south Mumbai two days ago due to viral fever. He is fine and there is nothing to worry about’.
Pictures of Rishi’s son and actor Ranbir Kapoor visiting him in the hospital have surfaced online. The actor can be seen wearing a mask as he arrives at the hospital.Â
After days of speculations around his health when he skipped the wedding celebrations of Armaaan Jain over the weekend, Rishi took to Twitter to share the exact nature of his illness. The actor, who had been filming in Delhi, had to be rushed to a hospital after he got fever. He wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, “Dear family,friends,foes and followers. I have been overwhelmed by all your concern about my health.Thank you. I have been filming in Delhi past 18 days and because of the Pollution and my low count of neutrophils, I caught an infection whereby I had to be hospitalized.”
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Dear family,friends,foes and followers. I have been overwhelmed by all your concern about my health.Thank you. I have been filming in Delhi past 18 days and because of the Pollution and my low count of neutrophils, I caught an infection whereby I had to be hospitalized. (1)…..
I was running a slight fever and on investigation,Dr.s found a patch which could have lead to pneumonia,was detected and is being cured. People seem to have assumed a lot different. I put to rest all those stories and look forward to entertain and love you. I am now in Mumbai.
Continuing the same Twitter thread, he said, “I was running a slight fever and on investigation,Dr.s found a patch which could have lead to pneumonia,was detected and is being cured. People seem to have assumed a lot different. I put to rest all those stories and look forward to entertain and love you. I am now in Mumbai.”
Earlier, while in Delhi, Rishi had said, “I have had an infection which I am getting treated. Nothing dramatic. Pollution got me, I guess.” Rishi’s son Ranbir Kapoor and his girlfriend Alia Bhatt flew to Delhi to visit Rishi. In videos shared online by a fan club, the couple was seen wearing masks as they accompanied Neetu Kapoor to the hospital.
Rishi Kapoor: Life in pictures
A third-generation actor of the illustrious Kapoor family, Rishi Kapoor has entertained Indian moviegoers for around five decades with brilliant performances in films such as “Bobby†(1973), “Karz†(1980), “Saagar†(1985), “Deewana†(1992), “Agneepath (2012) and “Kapoor & Sons†(2016). He is the father of actor Ranbir Kapoor and is currently active in Bollywood.
Rishi was born on Sept. 4, 1952, as the second son of Raj Kapoor and Krishna Raj Kapoor in Mumbai. His siblings are Randhir (C), Rajiv (L), Ritu and Rima. He is the paternal uncle of Karishma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, who are the daughters of Randhir.
He was around three, when he first appeared in film for the song “Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua†from “Shree 420†(1955). In the song, Kapoor is seen walking in a raincoat with his siblings, Randhir and Ritu.
When he was young, Kapoor stayed with his mother in an apartment for a few months away from his father. At the time, according to his autobiography, his parents’ relationship was strained due to Raj Kapoor’s affair with actress Vyjayanthimala.
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Kapoor studied at Mumbai’s Walsingham School before he was sent to Mayo College in Ajmer in the early 1960s. Due to an ailment, he had to leave Mayo and come back to Mumbai where he joined Campion School. In a 2015 interview to NDTV, he revealed that he failed in the 11th standard.Â
He made his film debut with “Mera Naam Joker†(1970), in which he played a younger version of his father Raj Kapoor. The film fetched him the National Award for the Best Child Artiste.
(Pictured, L-R) Rajeev Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Kseniya Ryabinkina and Rishi Kapoor during the celebration of 92 birth anniversary of the late Raj Kapoor at The Bombay Art Society in Mumbai. Ryabinkina was one of the three leading ladies of “Mera Naam Joker.”
Kapoor was 21 when he debuted as a lead actor with the 1973 film “Bobby†opposite Dimple Kapadia (pictured). The following year he won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.
According to Rishi Kapoor, “Bobby†(1973) was made to pay off debts of “Mera Naam Joker,†which had failed at the box office, and he was picked because Rajesh Khanna – the superstar of the time – was too costly for Raj Kapoor.
Rishi Kapoor’s first love was a Parsi girl about whom he has described in his autobiography, “Khullam Khulla.†The relationship ended in 1973 when a popular magazine published a story of his rumored affair with Dimple Kapadia.
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In 1975, he starred in his first film with Neetu Singh “Rafoo Chakkar.†However, the two didn’t get off to a great start as Singh revealed in an IANS interview: “I had a horrible first meeting with Rishi Kapoor. He had a habit of bullying, so he would comment on my make-up and clothes, and I’d feel so angry. He was actually a brat who would bully everyone, and I was very young at that time. I used to be furious with him.â€
The actors then went on to work in numerous hit films including “Khel Khel Mein†(1975), “Kabhie Kabhie†(1976) and “Amar Akbar Anthony†(1977) before getting married a few years later.
Initially against their relationship, Neetu’s family agreed to her marriage with Rishi Kapoor when the latter went to meet them despite running a high fever. They tied the knot on Jan. 22, 1980.
In 1977, he acted alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna in “Amar Akbar Anthony.†Kapoor calls it his favorite film with Amitabh Bachchan.
In 1999, Rishi Kapoor directed his first and only film so far – “Aa Ab Laut Chalen,†with Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai Bacchan in the lead roles. The film did not do well at the box office.
He reunited with his wife on screen in starring roles after 30 years for the 2010 film “Do Dooni Chaar.†His performance as a middle-class family man with simple dreams won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.
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In September 2018, the actor tweeted that he was unwell and was going abroad for treatment.
Only two days after leaving Mumbai for the United States for treatment, Kapoor lost his mother. His brothers convinced him to undergo treatment and not return for the funeral.
After spending months in the U.S. undergoing treatment, the details of which were under wraps, Kapoor said in an interview in May 2019 that he was “cancer-free†but will have to undergo a bone marrow transplant.