Neetu Kapoor is a great actress and there is no doubt about it. She is now seen in a few films but even today her performance is loved by the people. Neetu Kapoor was born on July 8, 1958. She is celebrating her 63rd birthday today. Neetu made her Bollywood debut at the age of eight. She was seen as a child artist in the film Suraj and that is where she started her journey of acting. Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayanthi Mala were in the lead roles in the film. She then played the lead role in Film Rickshawwala in 1973 and that's what made people his fans.
Singh was born as Harneet Kaur in New Delhi to Punjabi Jat Sikh parents, Darshan Singh and Rajee Kaur Singh. She began acting as a child artist shortly after her father's death. Neetu met Rishi Kapoor in 1974 and this was when the two were shooting for their debut film 'Jahreela Insaan'. Here the two became friends and started loving. The two got married after dating each other for nearly six years. Neetu was just 17 years old at the time and Neetu Kapoor is said to have been beaten by her mother Raji Singh for Rishi Kapoor.
Neetu's mother Raji rarely liked the people in the film industry, especially male stars. That is why Neetu Kapoor had kept her affair with Rishi Kapoor hidden from her mother. Unfortunately one day Neetu's mother came to know about the relationship. And she hit Neetu cruelty.
Neetu Singh then married Rishi Kapoor on 22 January 1980, after which she retired from acting. She dismissed allegations that this was part of the "Kapoor tradition" forbidding women from acting in films, saying that she made a personal choice to focus on her family after working consistently for several years. The couple has two children, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni (born 15 September 1980) and Ranbir Kapoor (born 28 September 1982). Riddhima is a fashion designer who married Delhi-based industrialist Bharat Sahni in 2006. Through Riddhima, they have a granddaughter, Samara, born in 2011. Ranbir is a Hindi film actor. Following a recurring battle with leukemia and treatment in New York City, Rishi Kapoor passed away on 30 April 2020.
During the filming of Jug Jugg Jeeyo, she (along with Varun Dhawan and other crew members) tested positive for COVID-19 in Chandigarh in December 2020. However, she recovered after an isolation period, returning to the film's sets in early January 2021.
Singh entered films as an uncredited child artist in Suraj (1966) starring Vyjayanthimala and Rajendra Kumar. This was followed by appearances in other top-grossing films like Dus Lakh (1966), Do Kaliyaan (1968), and Waris (1969). She was particularly appreciated for playing the double role of twin sisters in Do Kaliyaan. In most of these films, she was credited as Baby Sonia.
In 1973, she played her first lead role in Rickshawala opposite Randhir Kapoor. The film was a remake of the Tamil film Rickshawkaran (1971) but failed to match the success of this film. Later that year, however, Singh garnered mainstream attention for her appearance in a popular song "Lekar Hum Deewana Dil" from Nasir Hussain's blockbuster film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). These films marked her first credits as Neetu Singh.
The romantic films Rafoo Chakkar (1975) and Khel Khel Mein (1975) established her and Rishi Kapoor as popular on-screen pairs, and they were subsequently cast in several more films together. Khel Khel Mein in particular was propelled by the success of R.D. Burman's soundtrack. She gained further commercial success in Shankar Dada (1976) opposite Shashi Kapoor and Maha Chor (1976) opposite Rajesh Khanna.
Her two most prominent films in this period were Deewaar (1975) and Kabhi Kabhi (1976), both ensemble films directed by leading filmmaker Yash Chopra. In the action-drama Deewaar, she played the vivacious love interest to Shashi Kapoor. The romantic drama 'Kabhi Kabhi' was one of the most acclaimed films of that time and continues to be remembered today for its soundtrack by Khayyam and Sahir Ludhianvi. 'Kabhi Kabhi' paired her with Rishi Kapoor again, and it was during the making of this film that they became romantically involved off-screen.
Singh's most successful release of 1977 was Amar Akbar Anthony, directed by veteran filmmaker Manmohan Desai, in which she played a young doctor in love with a singer played by Rishi Kapoor. In the same year, Desai also cast her in the adventure film Dharam Veer opposite Jeetendra and the crime drama Parvarish opposite Amitabh Bachchan. All three of these films ranked among the top five highest-grossing films of the year, with Amar Akbar Anthony taking the top spot.
For the next few years, Singh achieved success as the sole female lead in films like Priyatama (1977), Maha Badmaash (1977), Dhongee (1979), and Chorni (1982). Several popular ensemble films like Adalat (1977), Kasme Vaade (1978), Jaani Dushman (1979), Kaala Patthar (1979), The Burning Train (1980), Yaarana (1981), and Teesri Aankh (1982) featured Neetu Singh. In these films, her most successful associations were with actors like Jeetendra, Amitabh Bachchan, and Randhir Kapoor. For Yash Chopra's Kaala Patthar, she earned her first Filmfare Award nomination. After her marriage in 1980, she retired from acting. Her last film was Ganga Meri Maa (1983).
After not appearing in films for over 25 years. Singh did a cameo appearance in Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal. Her first lead role post-retirement was that of a middle-class Punjabi mother in Habib Faisal's Do Dooni Chaar (2010), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. She then made a special appearance in Yash Chopra's final film Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), and also co-starred with her son Ranbir Kapoor in the unsuccessful comedy Besharam (2013). She was paired opposite her husband Rishi Kapoor in all four films In 2020, she began filming for Jug Jugg Jeeyo opposite Anil Kapoor, also starring Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani.
