Rishi
Kapoor
Choked
When
He
Shared
His
Cancer
News
With
A
Friend
Raj
revealed,
"His
cancer
was
detected
in
2018.
No
one
knew
about
it,
except
for
the
family.
It
was
September
2018.
He
was
to
fly
to
the
US
for
treatment
that
evening.
He
rang
me
up
the
same
day.
He
used
to
fondly
call
me
‘Thakur'.
I
took
the
call
and
greeted
him.
He
said,
"Thakur
tere
se
baat
karni
hai
(I
need
to
talk
to
you)." And
then,
he
choked
up.
I
sensed
something
was
not
right.
Then
he
told
me,
"Thakur
paanch
minute
mein
call
karna
(Call
me
in
five
minutes).
I
waited
for
exactly
five
minutes
and
called
back.
I
asked
him,
"Chintu
sab
theek
toh
hai
(Is
everything
alright)?"
He
was
choking
again.
"Thakur,
achchhi
khabar
nahin
hai
(I
don't
have
good
news
for
you).
"I
have
been
diagnosed
with
cancer.
I'm
flying
to
New
York
for
treatment
this
evening,"
he
told
me.
That's
how
I
knew."
Raj
Bansal
Recalls
His
Last
Meeting
With
Rishi
Kapoor
"We
met
the
last
in
December
2019.
Chintu
had
returned
to
Mumbai
after
his
year-long
cancer
treatment
in
New
York.
I
was
with
Sanjay
Dutt.
We
walked
up
to
his
house,
not
knowing
how
to
approach
him
knowing
he
hadn't
been
keeping
well.
We
were
ushered
inside
and
Chintu
was
all
smiles
and
rushed
to
greet
us
and
hug
us.
We
had
gone
there
thinking
we
won't
trouble
him.
But,
we
winded
up
spending
the
entire
night
there
over
drinks
and
dinner.
He
even
called
Neetu
(She
was
visiting
a
friend).
It
was
a
night
to
remember.
We
laughed
so
much
that
I
had
to
sit
on
the
floor
because
of
the
cramps.
That
was
Chintu.
That
was
Rishi
Kapoor
for
you,"
he
told
the
online
portal.
Was
Rishi
Admitted
To
The
Hospital
A
Day
Before
His
Death?
To
this,
his
friend
clarified,
"No.
The
reports
circulating
around
are
factually
incorrect.
He
was
admitted
some
days
back.
His
hospitalization
itself
was
a
surprise
to
me.
We
had
spoken
only
two
days
before
that
and
he
was
taking
a
walk
outside
his
flat.
I
remember
telling
him
to
go
back
inside.
He
told
me,
"Yaar
Raju
ab
Bungalow
pe
renovation
ka
kaam
chal
raha
hai.
Flat
mein
shift
kara
diya
hai.
Thodi
fresh
hawa
lene
aya
tha
(Our
bungalow
in
Mumbai
is
being
renovated.
We
have
shifted
to
a
flat.
I
had
come
out
for
fresh
air.)"
We
had
spoken
about
our
future,
the
lockdown
and
Corona.
We
spoke
for
more
than
half
an
hour
and,
normally,
both
of
us
don't
speak
over
the
phone
for
so
long.
That's
why
I
refused
to
believe
he
is
no
more."
Raj
And
Rishi
Were
Buddies
For
Almost
Three
Decades
Recalling
how
they
first
met
on
the
sets
of
Chandni,
Rishi's
friend
said,
"It
was
1988.
Yash
ji
(Yash
Chopra)
was
shooting
the
film
Chandni
in
Delhi.
He
called
me
and
said,
"Raju,
come
over
for
the
shoot.
Bring
over
your
family
as
well."
I
met
Rishi
Kapoor,
who
was
playing
the
lead
with
Sridevi
on
the
sets.
He
was
shooting
for
the
song
'Mere
haathon
mein
nau
nau
choodiyan
hain'.
Yashi
ji
introduced
us
and
we
got
along
very
well.
I
was
leaving
the
next
day
for
Jaipur.
So,
I
told
Rishi
Kapoor
we
would
meet
again.
He
asked
me
if
I
can
postpone
my
plan
for
a
day.
I
said
yes,
but
asked
him,
why?
He
said
he
was
to
shoot
for
the
film
Ajooba
there
and
that
we
could
ride
together.
I
said
why
not?
That
was
how
we
met."
Rishi
Kapoor's
Transition
From
A
Romantic
Hero
To
Character
Roles
Raj
also
remembered
how
the
late
actor
would
describe
his
initial
career
when
he
mostly
played
romantic
heroes
and
said,
"On
more
than
one
occasion
he
would
tell
me,
‘Hum
koi
actor
thode
hi
hain.
Humein
toh
bas
pedon
ke
ird-gird
naachne
ke
liye
lete
hain'
(I
am
hardly
an
actor.
I
am
only
cast
to
run
around
trees
and
dance)."
Speaking
about
Kapoor's
second
innings,
he
said,
"Once
he
moved
out
of
that
stereotype
and
started
doing
his
own
kind
of
films,
he
surprised
everyone
with
the
kind
of
roles
he
took
up.
That
transition
to
being
a
character
actor
was
a
conscious
decision
on
his
part,
and
he
was
quite
pleased
with
himself
after
that.
Chintu
called
me
after
reading
the
script
of
Do
Dooni
Char,
which
by
the
way
is
an
excellent
movie.
Excitedly,
he
told
me,
‘I
have
read
a
new
script
and
I'm
planning
to
do
the
movie.
I
asked
him
if
he
had
liked
the
script.
He
said
he
did
and
told
me,
‘After
this
movie,
you
will
be
proud
of
your
friend'."