Alia Bhatt kept Rishi kapoor’s daughter Riddhima live on face time for his funeral

Riddhima was granted permission to drive from New Delhi to Mumbai to be with her family

Rishi Kapoor’s daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, who was granted permission to drive from New Delhi to Mumbai to be with her family, shared an update on her Instagram story. “Driving home, Ma,” wrote Riddhima and added “en route Mumbai.” She didn’t reveal how much of the 1,400 km-distance between the two cities she had covered; travel time is approximately 18 hours. Rishi Kapoor, 67, died in a Mumbai hospital on Thursday morning after a long battle with cancer. Riddhima, a jewellery designer living in New Delhi with her husband and daughter, applied for permission on Wednesday night to travel to Mumbai amid the coronavirus lockdown. The funeral, however, took place without her – Riddhima watched the funeral in New Delhi via video call. Mr Kapoor was cremated on Thursday afternoon with family and very few friends attending. The Kapoors had appealed to friends and well-wishers to respect the rules of the lockdown.

Actress Alia Bhatt, who was pictured at the funeral holding up a phone, live-streamed the funeral so that Riddhima and family in New Delhi could watch. Alia is dating Rishi and Neetu Kapoor’s son Ranbir.

Alia Bhatt with the Kapoors at Rishi Kapoor’s funeral

[amazon box=”B01N0WRVPX” “small”]

Here’s a glimpse at Riddhima’s heart-wrenching Instagram update.

Screenshots of Riddhima’s Instagram story on Friday morning

Apart from family members, the funeral was attended by Abhishek Bachchan, son of Rishi Kapoor’s most frequent co-star Amitabh Bachchan, and filmmaker Ayan Mukerji, who is Ranbir’s closest friend. Industrialist Anil Ambani, who is married to Rishi Kapoor’s Karz heroine Tina Munim, also attended.

Mr Kapoor was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, the night of which Riddhima applied to be allowed to travel to Mumbai. “She sought permission late at night. We had it within minutes,” a senior police officer told NDTV. In a statement released after Rishi Kapoor’s death, the Kapoor family appealed to fans to respect lockdown rules, writing: “In this hour of personal loss, we also recognise the world is going through a very difficult and troubled time. There are numerous restrictions around movement and gathering in public. We would like to request all his fans and well-wishers and friends of the family to please respect the laws that are in force.”

On Thursday, Riddhima had filled up her Instagram with messages that will break your heart. “I miss you already, come back na, Papa” and “Wish I could be there to say goodbye to you, Papa,” she wrote. In a separate post, she wrote how much she will be missing her FaceTime sessions with her dad: “Papa, I love you. I will always love you – RIP my strongest warrior. I will miss you every day. I will miss your FaceTime calls every day! Until we meet again papa, I love you.”

Riddhima, her husband and daughter frequently visited Rishi and Neetu Kapoor in New York, where the actor underwent cancer treatment for almost a year.