NEW DELHI: Rishi Kapoor the husband was 'infinitely better' than Rishi Kapoor the boyfriend, his wife, and companion for more than four decades Neetu Singh once wrote in a book.
The actor passed away on Thursday morning at a hospital in Mumbai after a two-year-long battle with cancer. He was 67.
In 'Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored', the autobiography of Rishi Kapoor co-written by Meena Iyer, the actor had penned the 'afterword'.
After playing romantic leads in many films such as 'Kabhi Kabhie', 'Amar Akbar Anthony', 'Khel Khel Mein', Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh tied the knot in 1980.
Neetu took a break from movies after marriage only to return on the silver screen with 'Love Aaj Kal' in 2009 with her husband.
They featured together in 'Do Dooni Chaar' in 2010, 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' in 2012 and 'Besharam' in 2013.
"Our dating days were filled with so much tension that it was a relief to finally get married. Before I got married, my daily routine was fixed. I would shoot until 8:30 pm, pack up and go out for a drive or dinner with my possessive boyfriend," Neetu wrote in the book, published by HarperCollins in 2017.
"Marriage was a way out of this routine for me. I wanted to relax, not have to report for work or have meetings. I got exactly what I wanted- a husband, a home, a family. I made the right choice in every way because Rishi Kapoor the husband was infinitely better than Rishi Kapoor the boyfriend."
She said as a boyfriend, the Kapoor scion was 'so brash and incorrigible' that her colleagues would feel sorry for her.
"For instance, I had no makeup man and enjoyed doing my own makeup. While I was getting ready, he would barge into my room, ruin my makeup with an eyeliner pencil, and stand there laughing. Or he'd grab my bag and empty its contents on the road. They were silly, bratty little ways of troubling me. And he'd constantly crib about my clothes."
"Unlike when he was a boyfriend, as a husband Rishi has never given me cause for concern about our relationship," she said.