It was on the unfateful day of June 2, 1988, when the Showman of Indian Cinema, Raj Kapoor, breathed his last. The superstar passed away after struggling for his life. But in the last few days, his health deteriorated, and he slipped into Coma. While his family was by his side in these last days, his best friend Dilip Kumar was also informed about his condition.
Dilip Kumar, who was in Pakistan for an event, rushed back to Delhi to be by his best friend’s side. The superstar, however, did not know that this was the last time he was meeting his ‘Laale Di Jaan’, a title he gave him endearingly.
Dilip Kumar could not believe that Raj Kapoor had slipped into Coma, and he tried every bit to revive him. To bring him back to consciousness, the Naya Daur actor reminded the Sangam superstar of all that their childhood held in Pakistan.
Taking him down memory lane, Dilip Kumar held Raj Kapoor‘s hand and talked about their ancestral home in Peshawar, the kebabs, and how he had brought kebab ki khushboo with him from Pakistan just for his friend.
Dilip Kumar’s Heartfelt Goodbye To Raj Kapoor: A Friend’s Last Wish Left Unfulfilled
In Dilip Kumar’s autobiography, Rishi Kapoor himself wrote a note about his father’s last meeting with the Devdas actor. Both of them are helpless, one lying on the bed and the other trying to make him live just to fulfill that one wish together!
Rishi Kapoor, in his note, wrote, “I remember very clearly how he (Dilip Kumar) walked into the room where Papa was lying unconscious and drew a chair close to the bed on which he sat holding Papa’s hand. He began telling Papa, ‘Raj, aaj bhi main der se aaya. Maaf kar de mujhe..‘ I know you like to be in the limelight and have all the attention on you. Enough is enough. Get up, sit, and listen to me. I have just come back from Peshawar, and I have brought the aroma of chapli kebabs to temp you.You and I will go together and will walk through the bazaar, like we used to and enjoy the kebabs and rotis. Raj, wake up and stop acting, I know you are a great actor.”
Concluding the note Rishi Kapoor wrote a hearbreaking good bye from a friend to another friend, “…(Dilip Kumar said) Raj, mainu le jana hai tusi Peshawar de ghar de aangan wich.’ His voice was now choking and tears were brimming over from his eyes as he spoke.“
With that breaking voice, a last wish was left unfulfilled, and while Dilip Kumar looked one last time at Raj Kapoor, everyone in that hospital room knew that the Showman was not returning to them ever again.
