Actor Rishi Kapoor lashed out on "today's so called stars" for failing to attend veteran actor Vinod Khanna's funeral on Thursday evening. Mr Khanna, 70, died after a battle with cancer of the bladder.
He had been in hospital for nearly a month. His former co-stars - among them Rishi Kapoor, Rajinikanth, Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha - posted grieving messages on Twitter. Amitabh Bachchan, who made several films with Vinod Khanna, rushed out of an interview midway when learning of the actor's death.
Mr Bachchan and Mr Kapoor were among the mourners at Vinod Khanna's funeral, as well as Jackie Shroff, Mr Bachchan's son Abhishek, Chunky Pandey and Randeep Hooda. But, as Mr Kapoor revealed in an angry tweet, "Shameful. Not one actor of this generation attended Vinod Khanna's funeral. And that too he has worked with them.
Must learn to respect." The 64-year-old actor explained that his son Ranbir and wife Neetu Kapoor were absent because they are currently abroad. "Yes it has been expressed earlier on social media my wife and Ranbir are out of the country. Would never had been reason not to be there," he tweeted.
The Kapoors at Vinod Khanna's funeral
Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek at Vinod Khanna's funeral
Here's what Rishi Kapoor posted:
Mr Kapoor also added: "Angry. Met so many chamcha people last night at Priyanka Chopra's do last night. Few at Vinod's. So angry with them." Priyanka Chopra, who recently returned to Mumbai after an extended stay in New York, had hosted a celebratory bash for the National Award hattrick of her film Ventilator.
Celebs at Vinod Khanna's funeral
Celebs at Vinod Khanna's funeral
Actor-filmmaker Kunal Kohli, who was at Priyanka's party but not at Mr Khanna's funeral replied to Rishi Kapoor's tweet: "I share your anger sir. I left the country in the morning. Found out as I boarded the flight. Shame today's stars didn't pay their respects."
Exactly who Rishi Kapoor is referring to is unclear. However, Vinod Khanna's co-stars from among actors junior to him include everyone from the three Khans - Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh - to Shatrughan Sinha's daughter Sonakshi.
None of these actors were spotted at the funeral (SRK is believed to be in Canada), and neither was Sanjay Dutt, a co-star of Vinod Khanna and son of Sunil Dutt in whose 1968 film Mann Ka Meet Mr Khanna made his debut. Sanjay Dutt released a statement earlier in the day saying that "Vinod Khanna would always be family to the Dutts." It is not clear how many of the 'today's so-called stars' were in Mumbai on Thursday.
Filmmaker Karan Johar cancelled the Mumbai premiere of Baahubali: The Conclusion, which releases worldwide today, after Vinod Khanna's death. He said in a statement: "The demise has come as a huge shock to all of us. As a mark of respect for our dearly departed, the premiere event of Baahubali: The Conclusion is now cancelled."
Vinod Khanna was respected and admired for his work in films like Achanak, Hera Pheri, Haath Ki Safai and Muqqadar Ka Sikander. His best-remembered role is, perhaps, that of Inspector Amar in Amar Akbar Anthony.
Vinod Khanna was married twice and is survived by three sons and a daughter.
He played the role of Salman Khan's estranged father in the Dabangg series. In his last film Dilwale, he played the father of Shah Rukh Khan and Varun Dhawan's characters. The film also featured Kajol and Kriti Sanon.
Share This Post
