"I wish I had spent more time with my children."
On the occasion of his 82nd birthday, Jeetendra admitted that his biggest regret was not spending enough time with his children.
The ‘Jumping Jack’ of Bollywood has two children with wife Shobha – Ekta Kapoor and Tusshar Kapoor.
Opening up on this regret, the veteran actor said: “Time has just flown by. Now, I am no longer a slave to the clock.
“I wake up when I like. I go to sleep when I want, not having to worry about shooting schedules the next day.
“It is very liberating to be able to do what I want when I want without worrying about the time.
“I spend a lot of time with my grandchildren. As far as work is concerned, I am still open to new offers.
“I don’t remember anything about Ekta and Tusshar’s growing years.
“I don’t remember playing with them, attending their school functions. I was away shooting in Hyderabad.
“Whenever my two children had a holiday, I’d make them fly down to my shooting to be with me.
“But that’s no way to bring up children. That is one missing link in my life.
“I wish I had spent more time with my children.
“Now when I have so much to spend with my grandson, I feel I am getting another chance to relive Ekta and Tusshar’s childhood.”
Jeetendra added that he is proud of his children.
“Both Tusshar and Ekta have done well for themselves. Ekta works so hard. She reminds me of what I used to be.
“She produces TV serials and films – she has also stepped into the digital space.
“I sometimes wonder how she manages all these things.”
Jeetendra also shed light on his own career, highlighting Farz (1967) as the turning point in his filmography.
The movie featured him opposite Babita Shivdasani Kapoor.
He reminisced: “Before Farz, I was just thrashing around, trying to find a place for myself.
“Do you know every major star of the 1960s had said no to Farz? I am thankful to each one of them.
“I was probably the last choice. We shot Farz on a tight budget. During one schedule in Ooty, we shot four songs.
“They were fantastic. But Babita and I were not bad either. The song ‘Happy Birthday to Sunita‘ is played at every birthday party to this day.
“The credit for bringing the Indian James Bond to Hindi cinema goes to me.”
Jeetendra is one of Bollywood’s most respected yesteryear actors, who worked in a series of great films throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
His onscreen pairing with Sridevi was extremely popular.
Meanwhile, Ekta Kapoor last co-produced Crew (2024) which starred Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon.
Tusshar Kapoor was last seen in Maarrich (2022).
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