When Rishi Kapoor spoke about his affair rumours with Juhi Chawla: ‘I was brain-washed into going…’

When Rishi Kapoor spoke about his affair rumours with Juhi Chawla: ‘I was brain-washed into going…’

Rishi Kapoor never danced around rumours, and his 1997 interview proved that once again. At a time when gossip magazines were buzzing about his so-called affair with Juhi Chawla, thanks to their hit films Bol Radha Bol and Saajan Ka Ghar, Rishi shut down the speculation with sharp clarity.

He revealed that the entire rumour wasn’t romance at all, but a carefully planted publicity gimmick, one he admitted he was nudged into because of his on-screen romantic image.

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The chatter at the time was loud. Rishi and Juhi had starred in films like Bol Radha Bol and Saajan Ka Ghar, their easy chemistry won over audiences, and the gossip columns went straight for the most obvious headline: an alleged romance off-screen, despite Rishi already being married to Neetu Kapoor. The rumour grew so big that Rishi was directly asked about it in the interview.

His reply cleared the air in seconds. “Juhi’s was a publicity gimmick. I was brain-washed into going along with it because I was told that I had this great romantic image on screen, so I should have a romantic link-up with Juhi,” he said. It wasn’t a love story. It wasn’t a secret affair. It was good old-fashioned early-90s publicity engineering.

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And Juhi wasn’t the only name tossed into the gossip mill. Rishi’s name was also linked with Amrita Singh. He didn’t mince words there either. “Juhi and Amrita Singh? Bull. Amrita was not my type,” he said flat-out.

What made the interview even more candid was how he addressed the wider rumour factory that followed him.

Rishi Kapoor had worked with a long list of newcomers, many of whom went on to become big names. He felt the accusations didn’t even make logical sense. “I’m the hero who introduced the maximum number of new girls. If I didn’t proposition them, why would I chase bloody tarts, yaar? Ask Kajal, Kiron, or Padmini Kolhapure. I treated them like kids, yaar,” he said.

He even reflected on his early years with Neetu Singh, pointing out how their bond grew without any of the predatory behaviour people later tried to accuse him of.

“Ask Neetu! Ya, I teased her a lot, but did I ever proposition her, did I ever say I’ll get you thrown out of a film if you don’t go to bed with me? We didn’t have a sexual relationship going,” he said. He reminded the interviewer that he and Neetu had done “God knows how many films together,” and if he hadn’t taken advantage of her then, he wasn’t going to suddenly chase anyone else.

Neetu, who was present during the interview, also stepped in with her own view. She believed many young actresses were using Rishi’s name to generate buzz around themselves. In her eyes, the rumours said more about their publicity strategies than about her husband.