Rishi hopes Kapoor clan continues to entertain

Aug 27, 2012 IANS

Nathdwara (Rajasthan), Aug 27 (IANS) Four generations of Bollywood's popular Kapoor family have entertained Hindi movie buffs across decades, and Rishi, grandson of Prithviraj Kapoor, and son of Raj Kapoor, hopes the family continues to do so.

"This is the fourth generation of male actors (from Kapoor family). I'm grateful to god for this, his blessings on us. Our fourth generation of actors is because of your (fans') love, I'm thankful for that," the 59-year-old said here at the Nathdwara festival.

"Bless us that we continue to entertain the public through our work," he added.

Prithviraj got his first lead role in 1929 in the movie "Cinema Girl". He started a legacy of actors in his family, that has continued till date. All three of Prithviraj's sons - Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, and Shashi Kapoor - became successful actors.

Raj's sons - Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv - too grew up to become actors, even though Rajiv didn't taste as much success as his two elder brothers.

While both of Randhir's daughters - Kareena and Karisma - broke the convention for Kapoor girls in the family by turning actresses, Rishi's son Ranbir is the current Bollywood heartthrob.

Meanwhile, Rishi recalled his trips to Rajasthan during his heydays and is happy with the progress in the state's infrastructure.

"I shot for 'Laila Majnu' here around 1974. At that time, the infrastructure was not good. There were no roads. It used to take around 12 hours to reach Bikaner from Jaipur, it was a tedious journey. But now I saw the Expressway double-lane highway, there have been some definite infrastructure improvements," Rishi added.

Rishi was last seen in Sajid Khan's "Housefull 2" and will soon be seen in Karan Johar's "Student of The Year".