Archive · 4 Sep 2026
Rishi Kapoor’s Karz Struggle: Depression, Drinking and Blaming Marriage
Rishi Kapoor expected his film Karz to become a big hit.
It did decent business, but Qurbani became the bigger success when both films were released close together.
Kapoor said this made him feel very disappointed and depressed.
For a while, he was afraid to work in front of the camera.
Doctors and psychiatrists were asked to help him.
His father Raj Kapoor took him away for a change of surroundings and spoke with him.
Kapoor also started drinking with friends because it briefly made him feel more confident.
He blamed his marriage to Neetu Kapoor for hurting his popularity, although he later recovered and Karz became a well-known film.
Rishi Kapoor said Karz’s 1980 release underperformed expectations after facing competition from Qurbani.
He described falling into deep depression, experiencing fear on sets and temporarily being unable to face the camera.
Doctors and psychiatrists were consulted, while his father Raj Kapoor tried to help him recover.
Kapoor began drinking in the evenings and became paranoid that studio lights might fall on him.
He blamed his recent marriage to Neetu Kapoor for diminishing his fan following, though Karz later gained lasting popularity.
- Who
- Actor Rishi Kapoor, his wife Neetu Kapoor, his father Raj Kapoor, and the cast and director of Karz.
- What
- Karz’s weaker-than-expected box-office performance was followed by Rishi Kapoor’s depression, anxiety, drinking and self-doubt.
- When
- Karz was released in 1980; Kapoor said the crisis occurred shortly afterward, five months after his marriage to Neetu Kapoor.
- Where
- The events involved film sets and a farmhouse in Loni, Maharashtra; Raj Kapoor also accompanied him to Shirdi.
- Why
- Kapoor connected his distress to Karz’s reception and its comparison with Qurbani, and blamed his marriage for a declining fan following.
- Film
- Karz, starring Rishi Kapoor, Simi Garewal and Tina Munim, was released in 1980.
- Director
- Subhash Ghai directed Karz.
- Box-office context
- Kapoor said Karz did decent business but was overshadowed by Qurbani, released a week later.
- Mental-health crisis
- Kapoor wrote that he experienced deep depression, trembling, faintness, paranoia and difficulty facing the camera.
- Support
- Doctors and psychiatrists were consulted, and Raj Kapoor took him to a farmhouse in Loni and to Shirdi.
- Personal circumstances
- Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor had married five months before Karz’s release; Neetu was pregnant with their daughter Riddhima.
- Later reputation
- Karz later became influential and was remade in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu.