This book, gifted to me by a Maldivian Bollywood buff friend, can be considered both an autobiography and a biography because Rishi collaborated with Iyer. What is exceptional is that this is the first of its kind book about a Bollywood star with a bare-it-all approach which made this book deserve the word "uncensored" in its title. (I earlier quoted some passages).
Rishi quite candidly describes, among other things, his father Raj Kapoor's extra-marital affairs; on being in love at first not with his wife Neetu Singh but another, Yasmin Mehta, much before the release of "Bobby". He describes how his "Bobby" co-star Dimple Kapadia married the then Bollywood super star Rajesh Khanna who threw away a ring into the sea that Dimple had borrowed from Rishi while on the set of "Bobby".
Rishi also engages in a no-holds-barred account of his love-hate friendship with India's mega star Amitabh Bachchan; cross-dressing to a movie set; blaming Neetu for his depression resulting from some tough times he faced when some of his movies bombed at the box office; almost refusing to play "Kabhi Kabhie" because Neetu had a more prominent role than him in the movie; personally not liking the songs he lip synced in his films; and Neetu feeling insecure when Rishi acted alongside with Dimple again in "Saagar" (released in 1985).
Rishi also describes that he used to be a male chauvinist until he later underwent a transformation after been married to Neetu, and in exposing another nasty dark side of his, he admitted to actually "buying" a Best Actor award just to spite Amitabh who he later believed should have won that award for "Zanjeer".
The late Bollywood actor Rishi left a mark on my mindset first with his debut movie "Mera Naam Joker" (released in 1970) for which he won India's prestigious National Award at the tender age of 16. He played the role of the gawky adolescent pining for his schoolteacher Simi Grewal, who was among the first actresses who I had developed an intense crush for as a kid.
Rishi passed away in 2020 after entertaining us close to 50 years. He became an overnight sensation with his first film as a leading man, "Bobby", (released in 1973), and carved a niche for himself with a string of romantic musical blockbusters in an era known for its angst-ridden films.
I consider myself fortunate that his musical "Chandni", starring alongside the late Sri Devi, was screened at Olympus Theatre in Male', the capital island of Maldives. It's not for every movie-goer unless you don't mind sitting through what seemed like an endless sequence of beautiful Hindi songs which I was familiar with because I grew up with Hindi songs.
Rishi was the youth icon that is still the toast of the satellite TV circuit. The songs he lip synced are the bread and butter of all radio stations even today. Then there was the second coming after a brief hiatus in the 1990s - as one of the finest actors in mainstream Hindi cinema with powerhouse performances in films like "Do Dooni Chaar", "D-Day", "Agneepath" and others.
He won a Film Fare award for playing a naughty 90-year-old in "Kapoor & Sons" (released in 2016). "The Body" (released in 2019) was his last film to be released during his lifetime while "Sharmaji Namkeen" was released posthumously in 2022.
Interesting
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