Krishna Kapoor, the widow of the legendary Bollywood actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor, died here on Monday at the age of 87, bringing an end to the second generation of the influential clan.
A gamut of film fraternity celebrities mourned her demise, and remembered her as the pillar of the Kapoor family, and as someone who personified grace, dignity and affection.
Krishna, who married Raj Kapoor in May 1946, is survived by her sons Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor, and daughters Ritu Nanda and Rima Kapoor-Jain.
"Regret to announce I lost my mother early this morning. She died peacefully," Randhir said in a statement.
She was due to attend on Tuesday the inauguration of Raj Kapoor's dream project -- the planet's biggest pillar-less dome in Pune on a property formerly owned by the late actor-filmmaker, which Krishna sold to Vishwanath Karad. But fate willed otherwise.
Krishna's granddaughters Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan were emotional as they bid goodbye to their 'dadi', whose last journey saw her body adorned by a blanket of white flowers.
"I will always love you - RIP dadi," Riddhima posted on Instagram.
Krishna was the sister of the legendary villain, the late Prem Nath and comedian Rajendra Nath and their brother-in-law is the other Bollywood baddie, Prem Chopra. She is known to have conducted herself with great dignity when Raj Kapoor had an affair with Nargis, but she put her foot down and moved out of the house when her husband got inclined towards Vyjayanthimala, Rishi Kapoor had shared in his book.
"He did all he could to woo her back, but my mother wouldn't give in until he had ended that chapter of his life," Rishi wrote.
In the industry, Krishna commanded a lot of respect, and that was visible as a string of celebrities turned up to pay their last respects.
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Kajol, Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kemmu, Alia Bhatt, Rani Mukerji, Ayan Mukerji, Anil Kapoor and Salma Khan were among those who were present.
"If Raj Kapoor was an institution in filmmaking, Krishnaji was an institution in living life. A very sad loss to all of us," Aamir tweeted.
Veteran actor Anupam Kher said she was "one of the most dignified and affectionate ladies" he had met, while filmmaker Karan Johar said she was "the embodiment of grace of dignity, of elegance and of strength".
"Krishna aunty will always be the 'First Lady of the Film Fraternity'. The most generous, kind and gentle person I have ever known with the most terrific sense of humour," he added.
Actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik also paid tribute to the "iron pillar of the Kapoor family", as did Raveena Tandon who said an era has ended with Krishna's demise.
--IANS
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