For nearly six decades, ever since he began his acting career in Hindi films in the late 1960s, Amitabh Bachchan has worked alongside numerous talented actors of various generations, forming strong on-screen bonds with several of them, one being the late actor Mukri. The two shared screen space in films such as ‘Laawaris’, ‘Sharaabi’, and ‘Coolie’, among others. Yet, when Mukri died in 2000, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan were absent from his funeral. Recalling that period in a recent interview, Mukri's daughter Naseem Mukri revealed that Rishi Kapoor showed up at 7 am and was "crying like a baby" on hearing the news of Mukri's death.
Amitabh Bachchan "never visited" after Mukri's death, says daughter
During a conversation with Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, Naseem was asked whether Amitabh had continued his friendship with Mukri's family following his death, to which she responded that this hadn't been the case. She further mentioned that he never once visited their home after Mukri passed away. She recalled that during Amitabh's early struggling days, when he lived at Mehmood's house along with his younger brother Anwar, Amitabh would occasionally drop by, but that changed as time went on. "Filmo ki dosti aisi hi hoti hai (That's what friendship is like in the movies)," she said, adding, "As long as you are a hit jodi, be it a heroine, comedian or a villain or anyone else, as long as you are making the movie a hit, until then, the friendship is great, but after that, if it's not working, then bye bye. Then it's, 'Who are you?'".
Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan skipped the burial too
Naseem was further asked whether Bachchan attended the burial, to which she simply replied, "No." She added that Mukri also shared a close bond with Jaya Bachchan, having worked with her in one of her earlier films, Piya Ka Ghar . "Jaya Bachchan was great friends with my father because of Piya Ka Ghar. Back then, during outdoor shoots in villages, they would all stay together. But she also didn't come. Didn't even call. We didn't even notice who all came," she said.
Rishi Kapoor rushed to pay respects
Rishi Kapoor, on the other hand, found out about Mukri's death through a television news broadcast at 2 am, and by 7 am, he had already arrived to pay his respects. "Rishi Kapoor came at 7 am. He saw it at 2 am on TV. It was broadcast immediately. At 7 am, the doorbell rang, we opened the door and he was there and he was crying like a baby. Because my father had worked a lot with Rishi," she shared.
Rishi Kapoor and Mukri's on-screen legacy
Rishi and Mukri had collaborated on several films together, including ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, in which Mukri portrayed Neetu Kapoor's on-screen father. "The song 'Tayyab Ali' worked because of Rishi and Mukri's performance," she said.
Mukri's death and legacy
Mukri died in 2000 following a heart attack in Mumbai, at the age of 78. He was widely recognised for his comic roles in films such as ‘Mother India’ and ‘Bombay to Goa’, among others.
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