Padmini Kolhapure: Industry will be silent after Rishi Kapoor

Mumbai, April 30  Actress Padmini Kolhapure, who worked with Rishi Kapoor in numerous films including Raj Kapoor’s “Prem Rog”, cannot believe Rishi Kapoor is no more.

“I am totally shellshocked. I don’t think I am able to process my feelings and express them. This is a personal loss to me, and I am feeling helpless and weak right now. I am not able to do anything or even move out and lend a helping hand. I cannot see him, attend his last rites, take his parting blessings. I cannot do anything, except sit at home and pray for him and his family,” said Padmini, pointing out that she could not attend the funeral owing to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.

“An artist like him, an actor like him, a good human being like him, is hard to find. The industry will be silent after Rishi Kapoor. The way he would get on social media, tweet about things, he would go on television, his presence was always felt. Now the industry will be silent for a long time. I am feeling empty,” said Padmini.

“He was such a happy person. Every time he would be on sets, the entire studio would be buzzing. There is so much one could say about Rishi Kapoor, but my mind is reeling right now,” she added.

In 2018, Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with cancer for the first time, following which the actor was in New York for nearly a year to undergo treatment. He returned to India in September 2019 after recovering.

The veteran actor was hospitalised on Wednesday morning after complaining that he was not feeling well. He was admitted to Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai where he breathed his last. Wife Neetu Kapoor was at his side.