Rishi Kapoor was ‘traumatised’ after Karz flopped, started drinking, blamed Neetu Kapoor

Rishi Kapoor faced severe depression after the commercial failure of Karz, a 1980 Hindi film. The movie, starring Rishi Kapoor, Simi Garewal, and Tina Munim, failed to meet the high expectations set by its predecessor, Madhumati. As a solo hero, Rishi had been struggling to regain his status after the dominance of Amitabh Bachchan's "angry young man" era.

Karz, which starred a star-studded cast including Neetu Kapoor, was expected to be a major comeback for Rishi. However, the film did not perform well at the box office and only managed "decent business."

Rishi's struggle with the failure of Karz led him to drink alcohol and become paranoid about set lights falling on him. He believed his personal life, particularly his marriage to Neetu Kapoor, had robbed him of his charm and desirability. Rishi felt that the marriage had negatively impacted his fan base and career. His condition worsened, and he sought help from his father, Raj Kapoor, who took him on a trip to Shirdi and read from the Bhagavad Gita.

Despite Rishi's attempts to overcome his depression, it took some time for him to regain his normalcy and bounce back to his normal career.