End of our story: Neetu’s emotional farewell note to Rishi Kapoor

New Delhi: On April 30, Bollywood lost one of its finest actors, Rishi Kapoor, and the entire nation went into mourning. A day later, his wife Neetu Kapoor took to Instagram to share an emotional farewell post for her late husband.

The post showcased Rishi in his happier days with a drink in one hand and the picture captioned’, “End of our Story.”

Several celebrities and members of the Bollywood film fraternity commented on the post. Veteran actor Anupam Kher said, “Some stories never end.” Actor Sonu Sood wrote, “It’s a story that inspired many stories on this planet mam. Some stories never end in fact they will remain in our hearts forever. Rishi sir will always be a guiding angel.”

Along with being a life partner for 40 years, Neetu was also his co-star in many hit Bollywood movies. Their story, which began on the sets of 1974 film Zehreela Insaan, ended when Rishi drew his last breath on Thursday. They starred together in many movies in between, including Do Dooni Char, Amar Akbar Anthony and Kabhi Kabhie, to name a few.

Earlier on Thursday in a statement shared on Neetu’s profile, the Kapoor family said,

“Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45 am IST in hospital 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, friend, food, and film 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.

He was grateful for the love of his fans that poured in from the world over. In his passing, they would all understand that he would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears.

In this hour of personal loss, we also recognise the world is going through a very difficult and troubled time. There are numerous restrictions around movement and gathering in public. We would like to request all his fans and well-wishers and friends of the family to please respect the laws that are in force.

He would not have it any other way.”

The final rites of the romantic Bollywood actor were held on Thursday afternoon in the presence of family members and a few friends including filmmaker Ayan Mukerji and actor Abhishek Bachchan. Alia Bhatt stood strong beside the family FaceTime-ing Rishi’s daughter Riddhima, as she was not able to be present there due to the lockdown.