Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh's love saga

One of the most iconic onscreen and off screen pairs, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh's love story has touched many hearts. The teenage romance which bloomed around 1975, stands rock solid even after 34 years. In an interview with Karan Johar, Neetu Singh and Rishi Kapoor bared their hearts out on their love life, teeange years, marriage and children. While the nation has loved and adored this super cute couple, let's take a look at their love story behind the screen.

On being asked what keeps them going strong Rishi Kapoor said, "It has always been Neetu who has made all the efforts, I have always been a difficult man." During their initial days, Neetu and Rishi got many opportunities to work together and while they used to spend most of their time together, they were never attracted to one another. Neetu Singh was more of his confidante. Rishi Kapoor had plenty of girlfriends and Neetu was the only person he used to share all the stories with. Neetu was his shoulder to cry on whenever he used to break up with someone.

Their moment of realisation came when Rishi Kapoor went abroad to shoot for Barood. Right before this film, Rishi and Neetu had shot for Kabhi Kabhi in Kashmir. When Rishi went to Paris for the shooting of Barood, he suddenly started feeling lonely and abandoned. Within a matter of two to three days, Rishi realised his love for Neetu and sent her a telegram. The telegram read 'Ye Sikhni badi yaad aati hai.' Neetu, who had so far acted as his confidante, could not hide her happiness anymore. Neetu took the telegram and showed it to Yash and Pam Chopra.

Though Rishi had expressed his love for Neetu, he remained commitment phobic. For him, marriage was a liability that he was not ready to take. During the intial days of courting, Rishi had clearly told Neetu, "I'll only date you, I'll never get married to you." Neetu, who had just entered her teens, was too much in love to lose him over this. They dated for five years before finally tying the knot.

Rishi Kapoor's sister got them engaged in a hush hush ceremony. Rishi Kapoor had gone to Delhi to attend a friend's wedding and his sister had secretly invited both the families for the event. Both the families knew about the budding relationship between the couple and decided to get them engaged. Rishi Kapoor did not even have a ring to give to Neetu, so he took his sister's ring and gave it to her. Meanwhile, the director of Rishi Kapoor's film Jhootha Kahin Ka, who was also a part of this secret ceremony, gave his ring to Neetu to give it to Rishi Kapoor.

Soon after this, Neetu gave up her career in the industry. Though the general perception is that Rishi asked Neetu to give up her career and be a part of his family, Neetu stresses on the fact that this was entirely her decision. Neetu had become a part of this industry when she was just 5, so by the time she got engaged and was 21, she decided to give it all up. According to Neetu, she had seen it all. She had become a superstar, she had seen success and she had worked a lot. So Neetu decided to move ahead in life and get married. Months before the wedding, Neetu sent letters to all her directors and co-actors that soon she would not be a part of the fraternity.

In the same interview, Rishi and Neetu also spoke about a slight rough patch in their married life. Talking about that phase Rishi said, "Every relationship goes through such turmoils but eventually comes out of it, our relationship was no different." He further added, "I was being very difficult then, but Neetu absorbed all the shocks I gave her really well. And held onto me." In response to that Neetu said, "Rishi has always been a very good husband and a very good father, so no matter what happened I knew what I wanted from him and held onto him."

Though Neetu maintains that Rishi Kapoor was never a jealous husband, there were certain guidelines laid out for her from the beginning. For instance Neetu was asked to pack up by 8 pm. Rishi Kapoor used to wrap up his shoot by 8 pm and after that he used to meet Neetu. So in a very subtle way, Neetu was told to pack up at the same time and Neetu, being a demure lover, used to follow this deadline religiously. Once she had to shoot the song, 'Dhoom mache' and the shot was scheduled for night. Everyone on the sets knew that Neetu had to be home by a certain time. From Yash Chopra to Amitabh Bachchan, everyone who was there on the sets ensured that Neetu left the shoot bang on time. Soon after finishing the song, Neetu rushed home wearing the same clothes and jewellery. As there were no mobile phones then, she kept wondering if Rishi had called on their landline number. But at last her maid informed her that there were no phone calls from Rishi Kapoor that evening. Neetu still laughs at the thought of how scared she was of Rishi Kapoor then.

In another round of candid confessions, Neetu Singh revealed how strict her mother was. Neetu said that her mother or any other family member never allowed Rishi and Neetu to go out anywhere alone. Though they had been dating for over five years, the rules never changed. Neetu was mostly accompanied by her cousin brother who used to get out of the car midway and while coming back they used to pick him up again. Her cousin, who was Rishi's buddy too, never revealed this secret to anyone.

After 25 years of hard and consistent work, Rishi Kapoor decided to give it all up. But their love and respect for each other's work is still intact. Parents of heartthrob, Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi and Neetu are still madly in love. In today's world where the institution of marriage is crumbling, Rishi and Neetu's love story is an inspiration to all those who think that marriages and love aren't forever.