Rakesh Roshan (THE TIMES OF INDIA; May 1, 2020)

It’s a sad day today. I’ve lost a very dear friend. I had dinner with him on March 18, a few days before the Coronavirus lockdown. We both got cancer around the same time—he was diagnosed in August and I in December. He was vibrant when I met him last. He spoke about having gone to Delhi the previous month and how the pollution there had probably caused a relapse but he insisted he was fine. Two weeks later he was hospitalised.

We go back a long way. We got close during the making of Khel Khel M0ein (1975). We went on so many holidays abroad together as couples—he, Neetu and their children (Riddhima and Ranbir) and me with my wife (Pinky) and kids (Hrithik and Sunaina). We did many films together as co-actors and later, he made a special appearance in a song in my first directorial venture and featured in Aap Ke Deewane, the first film I produced.

He was very frank but never cunning or manipulative. He was a rakhi brother to my wife and when he was in New York for his treatment, he called to tell us that he had tied a rakhi on his own hand, on her behalf. That’s how sensitive he really was.

As told to Mohua Das
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BOMBAY TIMES (May 1, 2020)

I met Chintu just about a month ago and we had drinks together, reliving our old times. That was the last time I saw him and now, I will never get to see my friend. It’s an irreparable loss. He’s left a vacuum that Can never be filled. Waking up to the news of Chintu’s demise has shaken me up completely
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As told to Upala KBR (MID-DAY; May 1, 2020)

Our friendship lasted 45 years because we were similar in nature — we loved food and drinks, and were brimming with optimism. We grew close during the making of Khel Khel Mein (1975).

Eventually, Jeetendra joined us, and we three became inseparable. We would meet every day after our respective shoots.

Chintu and I did several movies together — Jhoota Kahin Ka (1979), Khel Khel Mein and Aap Ke Deewane (1980), among others. He would never prepare for his shots, and yet, when the camera rolled, he came alive! He was so spontaneous and natural. When we were shooting for Aap Ke Deewane, I asked him how he shone in each take without having prepped for it. With a smile, he said, 'Aise hi yaar, main camera ke saamne bas masti karta hoon…' He was such an integral part of my life that I couldn't imagine my first directorial venture without him. So, I requested Chintu to do a cameo in Khudgarz (1987).

[In 2018], our cancer diagnosis came months apart — his in August, and mine in December. But we both fought with a smile on our face. He was always brave and full of life. When I met him in March before the lockdown, Chintu, Neetu and I reminisced about our good old days.

I spoke to Neetu earlier this week when I learnt he was hospitalised and prayed for his speedy recovery. I woke up this morning to a message from a friend, asking if Rishi Kapoor was all right. When I called Dabboo [Randhir Kapoor], his number was busy. That's when my heart sank and I instinctively knew something was wrong. Then I rang up Ranbir who shared the news. It was so shocking that I started crying on the phone. Instead of me consoling him, Ranbir comforted me. He has been a pillar of strength to his father.