They were like brothers from different mothers. On-screen, that is. In real life MrBachchan and Rishi Kapoor scarcely met. They moved in different circles and had different interests. For one, Mr B  is a teetotaler, and  Rishi…well, to put it mildly, he loved his drinks. But together on screen, they looked as compatible as, gin and tonic,  Amar and Abkar.

  1. Amar Akbar Anthony: Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor were the Bachchan’s constant co-stars during the 1980s and 90s when  Mr B reigned supreme. Rishi didn’t enjoy playing the second fiddle. And in actuality, he didn’t.  Rishi’s Akbar was every  bit as vital  to  Manmohan Desai’s film as  AB’s Anthony. And  during Rishi’s rousing qawwalli Parda  hai parda hai  AB storms  on to the stage with a garland  of currency  notes it was  an acknowledgment of what  an invaluable co-star  the Kapoor was.
  1. Naseeb:  Again, as brothers, the scene-stealing moment came when  AB and RK got together to do the drunken song Chal chal  mere bhai tere haath  jodta hai. They were clearly in the mood to have a  blast.  In many ways Naseebhad more of the AB-RK camaraderie than  Amar  Akbar Anthony.
  2. Coolie:  In  the  third Manmohan  Desai film that  they did  together   Mr Bachchan  and  Mr  Kapoor were just good friends. While in  the first two films they played brothers  here they were joined more by their mutual dostithan anything else. Regrettably the entire   focus  of attention  shifted from AB’s  bonding  with  RK to the near-fatal  accident on the set.
  3. Ajooba: In this Arabesque mess  Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor were two overgrown  kids  masquerading in costumes trying to have fun in a never-land.  Though both the actors  were  too professional to  question what director Shashi Kapoor  was  trying to do, this  was  clearly not  an occasion conducive to constructive camaraderie.
  4. 102  Not Out:  At last,  father and son.  After playing brothers  repeatedly,  the two  actors  finally got  around to playing what they were  always  meant to.  Rishi played a grumpy  76- year old  son to  Bachchan’s   102-year  old dad . Though  as usual  Mr B had  the upper hand, Rishi again  proved  himself   a natural-born scene-stealer.