Neetu Kapoor and late actor Rishi Kapoor shared four decades of marriage and built a family together with their two children, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and Ranbir Kapoor. Having entered the film industry at a very young age, Neetu recently reflected on how deeply intertwined her life became with Rishi after falling in love with him as a teenager.Neetu opened up about their relationship, revealing how much of her world revolved around making Rishi happy. She said in an interview with Soha Ali Khan on her podcast. “I got involved with him when I was 14-15, so I kind of grew up with him. He took me out; he showed me the world. He would take me to discotheques. He taught me how to have wine and all. I had not seen the world. Maybe I was very intimidated by him and I would always try to make him happy,” she shared.The actress further revealed how emotionally invested she was in his professional highs and lows. “When his films didn’t work, I would do all these fasts, go to temples, gurudwaras and churches. I don’t know how many novenas I must have done in my life so his films would work. I couldn’t see him upset or unhappy. That was my life and it was a very innocent life. Today, when I look back, I see that I was really innocent. I just went through life the way it came.”During the conversation, Neetu also reflected on why she believes the concept of marriage has changed over time. According to her, evolving lifestyles and independence have contributed to the decline of traditional marriages. “You don’t need to be married to have kids. So, the institution of marriage is going down,” she said.She also pointed out that financial independence has changed people’s approach towards relationships and commitment. Neetu went on to candidly speak about the arguments she and Rishi Kapoor would have during their marriage, revealing that some of their disagreements stretched on for months. She admitted that communication was often difficult because Rishi would not immediately listen to her concerns.“I used to go on this cold war and the cold war could go on for a month, six months. I would not bend till the time he didn’t ask me, ‘What’s your problem?’ And he would do that,” she recalled. Sharing how those conversations would eventually unfold, she added, “And then he would say ‘Acha bata yaar, kya hai? What’s your problem? Let’s sort it out.’ I would say, now that you have come to me, now, you listen to me. Because otherwise, he would just not listen.”Neetu also revealed that when he failed to understand why she was upset, Rishi would often reach out to their children, Ranbir and Riddhima, to figure out what had happened. Recalling a humorous observation made by her mother-in-law about their long marriage, Neetu said, “So when I would tell people that I have been married for 30 or 40 years, my mother-in-law would say, ‘You are only married for 20 years because you haven’t spoken for 10 years’.”
