AND THE STORIES ABOUT MR.KAPOOR ARE NOT GOING TO END, IT SEEMS ....

Ali Peter John

I still don't know ,one week after my friend Rishi Kapoor has gone away whether he loved his family more, his work as an actor more, his passion for cinema more, his love for his friends more, his weakness for good food and whisky more or his respect for good writers more ....I basically knew him as a great lover and I would like to believe that he loved everything with the same intensity he was always known for and will be remembered as ...

He knew of only one great writer in his life and that writer was K.A.Abbas who had written his father's great films "Awaara", Shri 420", "Mera Naam Joker "and "Bobby ".I had the privilege of seeing how much Rishi respected Abbas who was as I say and will say till the end was and will always be my mentor and guru like he was for Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan and many many more.

Rishi was always on the lookout for good writers which he complained he couldn't easily find.

Rumi came back to Bombay and woke up one morning to receive a number of calls from his friends. They told him about an interview Rishi had given to a certain journalist called Ali Peter John of "Screen "in which Rishi had talked about the lack of good writers in Hindi films and how he had found a young writer called Rumi Jaffery who reminded him of his father's writer , K.A.Abbas. That interview made a very big difference for the better for the new writer.It was like a certificate of merit issued by Rishi Kapoor whose opinion and views were held in high respect. Rumi who once exchanged his stories only with his close friends like Sajid Nadiadwala, Annu Kapoor, Deepak Anand and Talat Jani was now being invited as a writer by renowned filmmakers like Yash Chopra and Ramesh Sippy.In the meanwhile, the bond between Rishi and Rumi only grew stronger and Rumi was introduced to Neetu and Randhir Kapoor, Mrs.Krishna Raj Kapoor and the Kapoor family, courtesy his new and respected friend, Rishi Kapoor. The friendship between the actor and the writer led Rishi to take on Rumi as his writer when he directed his first film, "Aa Ab Laut Chale".

Rumis friendship with Rishi also opened up a new world for him as a writer. It was a time when the writers of the old school who wore kurta pyjamas, chewed paan and were elderly men were still ruling and Rumi was a very different entity in this world. He was told that writing for films was not like writing a play for children and that it was writing about life itself. He was advised to learn more about the world ,about life as it is lived in reality, he was told to learn to give his heart to someone and even to break some hearts to experience life and love which would make him a writer of films in the true sense.

He took the advice and added his own learning and experience to it and was soon excepted as a good and successful writer which gladdened Rishi's heart....

It was the year 1997 and Rumi was quite a name. He was getting engaged at the Radio Club near the Taj Mahal Hotel in Colaba. On the same day, the son of Rishis sister Ritu, Nikhil was getting married to Shweta, the daughter of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya .The marriage was being celebrated in Juhu. Rishi was the uncle of the bride groom and was supposed to be there during the entire marriage ceremony. The guests at Rumis engagement kept talking about the marriage in Juhu .Among the guests at Rumis engagement were Rahul Rawail ,a very good friend of Rishi and the one-time chief assistant director of Raj Kapoor, who was also the chief assistant during the making of "Bobby ", Bobby Deol and Ashwariya Roy . Rumi looked up from the dais and was surprised to see his friend Rishi coming towards the hall where his reception was being held. Rahul asked Rishi how he had come to the engagement when he was supposed to be at the wedding and what Rishi said is still very fresh in Rumis mind. Rishi had said, "I went to the wedding, had two drinks made my presence felt and came away. Nikhil is my nephew, but Rumi is like my younger brother. How could I miss his engagement ceremony ?"

The two friends kept their friendship going through all kinds of weather and were the same old friends till Rishi left the world, leaving behind all his loved ones and his friends among whom Rumi had a special place. Rishi had given Rumi so much love that Rumi couldn't stop crying, remembering all that Rishi was and Rishi did for him and others.

Rumi, for those who still don't know had written two other films starring Rishi, "Pehla Pehla Pyaar" and " "in which Rishi had Salman Khan as his co-star. Rumi holds a unique record of writing twenty films directed by David Dhawan and starring Govinda.He also wrote his twenty-first film for David "Coolie no.1"made with David's son Varun Dhawan. Rumi has also directed "God Tussi Great Ho",with Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan and is now directing "Chehre"another film with Amitabh.

That young man from Bhopal has come a very long way and he says he owes a great debt of gratitude to his friend, Rishi who had been his guiding light for a major part of his journey.