An ode to the OG fashion icon, Rishi Kapoor

There never was and never will be an actor who was as charming, vivacious or good looking as Rishi Kapoor. Son of the great Raj Kapoor and grandson of Prithviraj Kapoor, he was blessed with the genetic lottery. But that wasn’t all when he played an instrument, we believed he could. There wasn’t anyone who could lip-sync to a song quite like him and there isn’t anyone who could stare at a woman and turn her into a puddle with the intensity. It’s safe to say that there will never really be someone like him. While we are reminiscing about the great work and rewatching his old movies, there something to be said about his style back in the day. 

In the movies back when he started, he pioneered a lot of trends. Be it the mufflers, the exaggerated sideburns, the polka dot satin shirts or the colourful cardigan, he was a trendsetter in many ways. Whatever he wore as a quintessential ‘chocolate hero’, was aped in many ways. Here’s taking a look back at all the trends he started and rocked. 

Bright colours

When he entered the industry, barring a few actors like Shammi Kapoor and Dev Anand, there were few who experimented with colours. He did not shy away from wearing pink corduroy pants or polka dots. And he looked GOOD.  

Polo necks and mufflers

While the satin shirts started a trend, you couldn’t miss the high necks with the colourful mufflers. He could honestly pull anything off back then. 

Oversized glasses

While this trend has made a strong comeback in the last 5 years, Rishi was a pioneer of this trend. He wore the round massive frames in Bobby and the bumblebee glares became a roaring trend.

Bell Bottoms

A big trend in the 70s and 80s, this trend was well sported by Rishi Kapoor and his swinging legs. He looked amazing in this garb as he danced his way into our hearts. 

Pullovers and cardigans

In his second innings in the movies, you’d see him sporting cardigans and sweaters. Sometimes wrapped around his shoulder, and sometimes casually tucked in, the bright sweaters became a trademark for him. 

He has always reinvented himself and then settled on more casual t-shirts and denim sort of a vibe in his 60s, making that look good too. It’s going to take us a while to overcome these losses we can at least assuage ourselves with the fact that we can always revisit their best work and that it is preserved for posterity.