Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, who has been entertaining the audience from more than four decades now, was today honoured at the first edition of BRICS Film Festival. The 63-year old actor was felicitated at the inaugural ceremony of the festival by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh.
Rishi, who debuted in Bollywood as a child actor in his father Raj Kapoor’s film Mera Naam Joker, went on to give several memorable films like Bobby, Kabhie Kabhie, Amar Akbar Anthony, Karz, Damini, Chandni, Agneepath and the more recent Kapoor & Sons Since 1921.
The actor said he felt special that he belonged to family, which “has contributed 88 years to an industry which has been existing for last 103 years and its Fourth Generation is still contributing.”
“Cinema is everything… Ek meri maa thi, ek cine-ma hai!. Cinema gives us an opportunity to see another land, culture and people… It is the ambassador who builds bridges, cuts across various borders and most importantly entertains,” Rishi spoke in praise of films.
He tweeted to acknowledge the honour:
The five-day long BRICS film festival will screen movies from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Sharing an anecdote about his father’s craze in Russia, Rishi said once the actor-filmmaker traveled to Morroco without the visa but he was still welcomed by the authorities due to his popularity.
“When he (Raj) was standing outside the airport, waiting for his taxi to come, slowly people started recognizing him… After he sat in the taxi, he realized it wasn’t moving but was in the air because people had lifted the car! Such was people’s love for him, such is the magic of cinema,” he said.