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| Rishi Kapoor says guests have come from Peshawar to give them coffee (Kahwa) |
Fans of actor Rishi Kapoor, who died after a two-year battle with cancer in India, are not only in India but also in Pakistan. He also had a personal connection with Pakistan.
The Indian actor, who made superhit films like Bobby and Karz, belonged to the famous Kapoor family of Bollywood.
This is the same Kapoor family with roots in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and the Kapoor family's ancestral mansion is located in one of the city's famous Qissa Khawani Bazaar streets.
The Kapoor Haveli was built between 1918 and 1922 by Rishi Kapoor's great-grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor, and was a masterpiece of the period.
Rishi Kapoor's attachment to the city of his ancestors can be gauged from the fact that he took the soil of his house with him on his return from a visit to Peshawar.
This is from 1990 when two big names of Kapoor family Shashi Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor came to Pakistan and the purpose of their visit was mainly to interview Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar for the film 'Hina'.
The Kapoor brothers had formally sought permission from the Pakistani government to visit Peshawar and when they visited Peshawar, they were warmly welcomed by the locals.
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Leading Peshawar actors Naji Khan and Rashid Naz were tasked with welcoming the Indian actors. Naji Khan told BBC Urdu that "at that time it felt as if the whole city had come under cover."
He said that when he was being picked up from the airport, he was sitting in the car with Rishi Kapoor and Rishi used to ask him about every place.
According to Naji Khan, "When we reached Qissa Khawani Bazaar, they saw wood carvings, stopped the car and wanted to take a closer look."
Naji Khan said that 'Rishi Kapoor was a very loving person. He himself had invited the artists of Peshawar by telling the governor and he used to hug and laugh with them.
What was Rishi Kapoor's wish?
Shakeel Waheedullah, secretary of the Cultural Heritage Council in Peshawar, has been visiting India since 2009 to meet artists.
He said that in a meeting, Rishi Kapoor had expressed his desire that a museum bearing the names of Prithviraj and Raj Kapoor should be set up in his ancestral home to house memorabilia and equipment related to the film life of the Kapoor family. India and Pakistan will remain in touch and their love for Peshawar will live on.
According to Shakeel Waheedullah, the purpose of Rishi Kapoor's visit to Pakistan in 1990 was to "see the city and the house and the area where his ancestors were born and lived here for a long time."
Shakeel Waheedullah said that when he was going to meet him in 2009, Randhir Kapoor had specially asked for soil from Peshawar. He said that when they took the clay, "these brothers put the clay on their heads and kissed it, saying that it was the clay of the place where their ancestors were born."
He said that when he was meeting Rishi Kapoor, he told his secretary after dinner that the guests had come from Peshawar. Make Peshawar coffee for them, because people in Peshawar drink coffee after eating.
Fans of Pakistani films and artists
According to BBC Hindi's Vandana Vijay, Rishi Kapoor was a big fan of Pakistani film 'Aina' and he has mentioned it in his autobiography.
A film based on this story was also made in Bollywood and Rishi Kapoor was offered the role of hero in this film. The name of the film was 'Pyaar Jhakta Nahi'.
However, in the role of hero in this film, he had to play the role of the father of a child, so he refused to do this film. 'Pyaar Jhakta Nahi' was a superhit film in 1985 and at that time the hero of this film was Mithan Chakraborty.
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Although he wrote in his autobiography that he was a big fan of this Pakistani film
In his autobiography 'Khulam Khala', Rishi Kapoor also writes about how his father Raj Kapoor invited Pakistan's famous Qawwal and singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to sing at his wedding ceremony which he accepted. What was
Rishi Kapoor also worked with Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in the Indian film 'Kapur and Sons' where the two had ample opportunity to spend time together. On the occasion of the release of this film, actor Fawad Khan had said that he remembers how during the shooting they both used to talk a lot to each other on Lucy and Punjabi.
Rishi Kapoor was also very active on social media and Twitter and he was known for giving his opinion on Pakistan's issues which was sometimes appreciated and sometimes criticized.
In the wake of the Corona epidemic last month, Rishi Kapoor tweeted, "Respectfully, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan should take appropriate steps to prevent Corona in his country. We also love the people of Pakistan." ۔ We were once the same, we care about them. This is a global crisis and it has nothing to do with ego, we love you, long live humanity.
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