Neetu Singh

The 70s was a period of transition in the Hindi film industry. Actress Neetu Singh is one of those actresses from that period. However, she started her acting career right from her childhood at the tender age of eight years. Till date she has acted in over 60 films all together. She is married to the famous Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor. She is the mother of popular Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor. Her daughter Riddhima Kapoor is the wife of Bharat Sahni, a Delhi industrialist.

Harneet Kaur a.k.a Neetu Singh was born on 8th July 1958 in a Jatt Sikh family in the Pant Nagar area in Delhi. She spent her childhood in Mumbai in the Peddar Road area and completed her schooling from the Hill Range High School. Her first film role was in the film 'Dus Lakh' in the year 1966 and also one dual role in the same year in 'Do Kaliyan'. Further, her films as a young artist were 'Waris' and the oxymoron titled 'Pavitra Papi'.

However, her first breakthrough as a lead actress in the industry came with 'Rickshawala' in 1972. She was also seen in the 1973 hit 'Yaadon Ki Baarat' in a minor role. The song 'Lekar Hum Deewana Dil' brought her into the scope of attention of filmmakers and she started getting roles. It was a total 11 films, where she acted opposite to Rishi Kapoor. Films like 'Rafoo Chakkar', 'Khel Khel Mein' 'Amar Akbar Anthony', 'Kabhi Kabhi' and 'Doosra Aadmi' were her most successful films. Her performance in these films, earned her the best actress award by the Star Screen Awards. Apart from Rishi Kapoor, she was seen opposite to other big actors of the time such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Shashi Kapoor and Jeetendra. She was also seen in other noteworthy films of her time such as 'Deewaar', 'Adalat', 'Jaani Dushman', 'Dharam Veer' and 'Kaala Patthar'. Her performance in the last film earned her the nomination for the best supporting actress by the Filmfare Awards.

Soon she fell in love with her closest co-star Rishi Kapoor and got married to him in January 1980 at the age of 21. Though she gave up acting after her marriage, she was later seen in a couple of movies in the late 2000s and early 2010s. It is speculated that she left the industry as it was considered customary for married actress do to so, a claim that she quashed, citing the decision as her personal choice.

In the year 2011 she was awarded the 'Best Lifetime Jodi' award at the Zee Cine Awards. It was in 2009 when she made a comeback, in the film 'Love Aaj Kal' in a supporting role and in the film 'Do Dooni Chaar' as the protagonist's wife. Her latest film was 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' in 2012.