Some people with nothing better to do have been insensitively wondering out aloud why the Kapoor family did postpone Rishi Kapoor’s funeral yesterday so that the actor’s daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni could have come from Delhi for it. It’s nobody’s business, but PeepingMoon.com would like to speak up for the bereaved family that is in shock and grief. Though Rishi was not detected with Covid-19, the Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital where he passed away yesterday had to follow the guidelines released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India and take standard precautions for the disposal of the dead.

And top of this list is that a body has to be disposed of within 12 hours. Keeping it in the morgue is exposing family members to the risk of some infection. Riddhima had received permission to travel to Mumbai by road. Which would take 24 hours or more. And this time the hospital could not afford.

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So it was decided to go ahead with Rishi’s cremation last evening. The staff driving the hearse wore protective head gear, gowns, masks and gloves. The Chandanwadi Crematorium sensitized the area for the funeral. Religious scripts were read, holy water was sprinkled, but no touching of the body was allowed. A large gathering was discouraged as a social distancing measure.
And in this clinical manner, the last rites of the veteran actor who might have otherwise received a state funeral with full honours was somberly carried out. Another thing, Riddhima was not there in person to share the loss and grief with mother Neetu Kapoor and brother Ranbir Kapoor. But she was there in spirit all through thanks to Alia Bhatt who heartbreakingly carried the cremation ceremony to her live on a video call.