They say being protective and possessive are also shades of love and no tale of romance can ever be called complete without it. Even the most supportive of partners get jealous, insecure, and feel threatened when some blast from the past appears in their life. Something similar happened with Neetu Kapoor when his beloved husband Rishi Kapoor was offered to work again with his ‘Bobby’ co-star Dimple Kapadia.
In his memoir ‘Khullam Khulla,’ the late legendary star Rishi Kapoor mentioned time and again how supportive his wife Neetu Kapoor was. She was at the peak of her career when she tied the knot with Rishi Kapoor. While Rishi continued to etch his name in the golden pages of Indian cinema, Neetu decided to be a homemaker right after their wedding. She found happiness in the success of her husband. She was always a very secure woman, but things changed a bit when Rishi reunited with Dimple Kapadia.
Both Rishi and Dimple got their big break together with ‘Bobby.’ Their debut film was a massive hit and the on-screen romance reportedly left some impact in their personal lives as well. However, later Rishi got married, started a family, while Dimple was his Rajesh Khanna. When the two were offered ‘Saagar,’ the dynamics were further different as Rishi was father to two kids by then and Dimple was recently separated from Rajesh Khanna. Rishi in his biography revealed that then, Neetu confessed to him that for the first time in their marriage she threatened.
“But she needn’t have worried. Dimple was a friend, even if she may have been a little more than that during Bobby. Ten years had gone by; she was coming out of a marriage with two children of her own, and I was also well settled with two kids. I have never let Neetu down in our marriage. I am a happily married man with a loving and supportive wife. Neetu is not only my wife, she is also a friend,” he added.
Further, speaking about Dimple, Rishi shared, “She also felt the need to assert that she was a great actress. I could see her trying too hard to live up to her image in Bobby, but it wasn’t necessary. She was only twenty-five and very beautiful. Here, I must mention how much of a source of strength her sister Simple was to her at this point. She constantly motivated Dimple and helped her emerge from this phase. Many years later, we did another film, Pyaar Mein Twist (2005).”
However, the best part was that despite her fear, Neetu never stopped Rishi Kapoor in fulfilling his professional obligations. Rishi Kapoor noted the same by saying, “Neetu must have had some reservations, but she was very dignified about the whole thing. It is to her credit that she didn’t put her foot down and allowed me to do Saagar.” Rishi confessed how even if there were ever any ripples in their relationship, it was because of him, never her. “And even then, the reasons had nothing to do with another woman in my life. She has been a rock and stood by me in my weakest moments. If there was an Oscar for the best partner, for being with someone for better or for worse in every sense of the word, she would get it.”
