Neetu Singh Biography & Life Story
Neetu Singh/Harneet Kaur/Sonia Singh is 70s veteran Bollywood actress. She is a popular Bollywood actress, who appeared in Hindi movies during 1960s, 70s & early 80s.
She was inducted into the Walk of Stars, an entertainment of hall of fame at Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai.
Neetu Singh started acting as baby Sonia as a child artist. In 1966 at the age of 6-years, she made her debut in the movie Suraj.
Then she played a dual role in a comedy movie Do Kaliyaan in 19668. In 1973, she began her debut to mature roles with a vigilante film Rikshawala & in the same year she got her breakthrough with Yadon Ki Baarat.
After that she acted in many films like in the crime drama film Deewaar (1975), the thriller film Khel Khel Mein (1975), the musical film Kabhi Kabhie (1976), the masala film Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and the fantasy film Dharam Veer (1977).
During 70s & early 80s her performances in Parvarish, Jaani Dushman, Kaala Patthar & Yaarana were praised.
She was nominated for the best supporting actress for the movie Kaala Patthar. In 1983, she acted in Ganga Meri Maa.
After a long break, Neetu Singh made her acting come back with a minor role in Love Aaj Kal in 2009. For a comedy film Do Dooni Chaar in 2010, she won a Zee Cine Award.
In 2013, she acted in Besharam & made a guest appearance in Jab Tak Hai Jaan in 2012. In 2011, both Neetu Singh & Rishi Kapoor won Zee Cine Award for Best Lifetime Jodi.
Early & Personal life:
Neetu Singh was born on 8th July 1958 as Harneet Kaur in New Delhi to Punjabi Jat Sikh Parents. Darshan Singh was her mother & Rajee Kaur Singh was her mother.
After her father’s death, she started acting as a child artist. She studied at Hill Grange High School Mumbai.
Neetu Singh learnt dance from Vyjayanthimala’s dance school in Mumbai. In 1966, Vyjayanthimala spotted her & offers role in Suraj as a child artist. In 1975, she acted with her mother Rajee Singh in the movie ‘Rani Aur Lalpari’.
During the shooting of movie Kabhi Kabhi both rishi Kapoor & Neetu Singh were romantically involved off-screen also.
On 22nd January 1980, she married well-known actor & frequent collaborator Rishi Kapoor. In 1982, her wedding mandap was usedin Rishi Kapoor’s popular movie Prem Rog.
After marriage, Neetu Singh retired from acting as per Kapoor tradition. The couple have two children Riddhima Kapoor & Ranbir Kapoor.
Riddhima is a fashion designer, who married Delhi-based industrialist Bharat Sahani in 2008 & Ranbir also works in Hindi movies.
Her husband Rishi Kapoor passed away after two years long battle with leukemia in Mumbai on 30th April 2020.
In December 2020, during the filming of movie Jug Jug Jeeyo, she along with Varun Dhavan & other few crew members tested positive. After isolation she recovered & returned to the set in early January 2021.
Career:
In 1966, she entered as an uncredited child artist in Suraj with Vyjayanthimala & Rajendra Kumar. After that she acted in top-grossing movies such as Dus Lakh, Do Kaliyaan & Waris.
Particularly she was appreciated for playing double roll of twin sisters in Do Kaliyaan. In most of these movies she was known as baby Sonia.
Read also: Biography & Life Story of Mithun Chakraborty
Neetu Singh played her first lead role in Rickshawala with Randhir Kapoor in 1973. It was the remake of popular Tamil film Rickshawkaran.
But they failed to match the success of that movie. Later that year, she succeeds to get attention for her acting in popular song ‘Lekar Hum Deewana Dil’ from blockbuster movie Yaadon Ki Baaraat.
In 70s she made a popular on-screen pair with Rishi Kapoor in Rafoo Chakkar in 1975 & Khel Khel Mein in also 1975. They were casted in many more movies together.
In 1976, Neetu Singh gained commercial success in Shankar Dada opposite Shashi Kapoor & Maha Chor against Rajesh Khanna.
In 1975-76, she acted in most prominent movies named Deewaar & Kabhi Kabhi. Both were directed by leading film maker Yash Chopra.
In Deewaar she acted opposite Shashi Kapoor & in Kabhi Kabhi she acted against Rishi Kapoor. Kabhi Kabhi was one of the most acclaimed films of that time and continues to be remembered today for its soundtrack by Khayyam and Sahir Ludhianvi.
In 1977, her most successful release was Amar Akbar Anthony. It was directed by veteran filmmaker Manmohan Desai. She played a role of young doctor against Rishi Kapoor.
In the same year Desai casted her in the adventure movie Dharam Veer opposite Jeetendra & another movie Parvarish opposite Amitabh Bachchan. Both Dharam Veer, Amar Akbar Anthony & Parvarish were ranked among top 5-highest grossing films of that year.
For another few years, she alone achieved success as a solo female lead in movies like Priyatama, Maha Badmaash, Dhongee & Chorni.
Neetu Singh acted in number of popular movies like Adalat, Kasme Vaade, Jaani Dushman, Kaala Patthar, The Burning Train, Yaarana & Teesri Aankh.
In these movies she acted opposite popular actors named Jeetendra, Amitabh Bachchan, and Randhir Kapoor. She earned her first Filmfare nomination for Yash Chopra’s Kaala Patther.
Read also: Anupam Kher Life Story
In 1980, she retired from acting after she married to Rishi Kapoor. At that time her last movie to be released was Ganga Meri Maa in 1983. In 2009, after 25-years, she was appeared in a cameo appearance in Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal.
In 2010, her first lead role post-retirement was as a middle-class Punjabi mother in Do Dooni Chaar. This movie of Habib Faisal won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
In 2012, she made a special appearance in Yash Chopra’s final movie Jab Tak Hai Jaan. In 2013, she co-starred with her son Ranbir Kapoor in the unsuccessful comedy movie Besharam.
Three of these four movies, she was paired opposite her husband Rishi Kapoor. In 2020, she began acting in Jug Jugg Jeeyo with Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan & Kiara Advani.
Controversy:
It is reported that in 1997, Neetu Singh filed a police complaint against her husband for being violent after drinking so much alcohol.
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Later, she denied it & said that was just a rumor. In an interview, her son Ranbir Kapoor said that his childhood was full of trouble.