Birthday Special: JAB CHINTU AUR NEETU KE DHOOM DHAAM SE SHAADI HUI THI ...... BY LT. ALI PETER JOHN

In my life I have seen several marriages mostly not because I have loved marriages , but it has been my duty and my job to attend marriages , but one of the marriages I really loved and tharoughly enjoyed was the marriage of  on January 22 , 1980 - Ali Peter John

I cannot believe that forty two years have passed since that memorable day , evening and night .....

I knew that Rishi and Neetu had a soft corner for each other when I used to watch them shoot together and as they kept shooting their third and fourth films together, I knew that they were in love and when they had completed their 9nt film they had announced that they were getting married and it was not a very big surprise for many .

Even as Raj Kapoor and the entire Kapoor family got busy making preparations for the marriage , Rishi and Neetu were busy completing their last few films together because the Kapoor rule still said that a Kapoor Bahu could not work in films after getting married . That some Kapoor bahus broke this rule is not a matter for discussion now .

Hectic preparations were made for the marriage , the RK house Deonar and the RK Studios were decorated and lights of every kind dazzled every place associated with the marriage and the reception .

The marriage rites were conducted according to Punjabi custom at the RK Cottage and the Golf Club and the wedding reception was held at the RK Studios .

Kapoor khandaan headed by Raj Kapoor , Shammi Kapoor , Shashi Kapoor and their wives Krishna , Neela and Jennifer headed the hosts and were followed by what looked like the entire industry.

There was a massive crowd of stars , superstars , legends and celebrities from different walks of life . Raj Kapoor and Krishna flanked the newly weds while thousands of guests walked up to wish the couple .

There was an endless flow of the most delicious food and the best drinks and people started grabing the plates and the glasses . Raj Kapoor and Shammi watched this ugly scene for some time and when they couldn't tolerate , they knew that there were gate - crashers who had entered the party and started hitting people who they believed were gate - crashers.

They were so wild that Shashi was even seen hitting his own P R O Mohan Bawa and the Mohan protested and said , "but Shashi I am your P R O" and Shashi told him , " that exactly why I am hitting you".

Rishi's reception had many highlights . One of them was that Rishi had fainted during one of the rites.

The second highlight was that the 31 year old Ustaad Nusraat Fateh Ali Khan had performed live in India for a first time at Rishi's reception on the personal invitation of Raj Kapoor after which he became a cult figure and craze all over India.

And the third highlight was Rekha coming to a reception for a first time with a sindoor in her maang which she still wears today even after thirty years and no one still knows why .....

Thirty years later, Rishi and neetu's daughter Ridhima was getting married to Bharat at the same RK Studios where a grand reception was being held.

The only difference was that this time Rishi Kapoor and Neetu were the hosts and were welcoming guests on the stage for hours . When it was my turn to be introduced to the couple, Rishi held my hand firmly and said , " arre accha huva, tu sahi time pe aaya.

Tere haath jodta hoon jaa kar woh mere Tuka ko dhoond kaise bhi aur usko bol ek bottle lekar yahan parde ke peeche khade ho jaye , chaar ghante se sukhaa khada hoon, aisa he rahunga aada ghanta v aur toh zaroor mar jaaunga, sharab ki pyaas se." I had to do this favour for a great friend who had done me many favours which included saving my life from sure death .

MUJHE DUKH NAHI HOGA AGAR RANBIR YA ALIA YA RANDHIR NA MAHESH NE MUJHE SHAADI MEIN NAHI BULLAYA KYOONKI MERE PAAS MERA DOST CHINTU TAB BHI THA AUR ABB BHI RAHEGA AUR HUM DONO SHAADI KE DIN EK KONE MAIN BAITKAR EKB PATIALA PEG BANNAKAR CHEERS KARENGE . ISSI KA NAAM TOH ZINDAGI HAI