MUMBAI: Elderly Andheri resident Geeta Kapoor (58), who was brought to SRV hospital in Goregaon (West) last month by her son, Raja, and then allegedly abandoned, has finally found help from the film industry. After reading about her plight in mid-day, filmmakers Ramesh Taurani and Ashoke Pandit have come forward to clear her hospital bills. Kapoor, it was discovered, had worked in films like Pakeezah and Razia Sultan.
Taurani said, “I do not know Geeta Kapoor personally, but I read about her plight in mid-day and decided to help her. Along with Ashoke Pandit I got in touch with the hospital and decided to clear the dues. Her condition is better now. The doctors told me that she will be shifted to an old age home.”
Kapoor’s treating doctor, Dr Dipendra Tripathi, said, “Yes, we received calls from Ashoke Pandit and Ramesh Taurani, who said they would be clearing Kapoor’s bills today. As soon as that is done, we will be moving her to an old age home in Andheri.” Doctors at SRV Hospital had been trying to trace Raja and Kapoor’s daughter, Pooja, for an entire month to inform them that their mother was now well. They finally had to approach the police, who are exploring legal options to take action against her son. While Raja is a choreographer, Pooja is an air hostess, who shifted to Pune after marriage and hasn’t bothered to check on her mother. Dr Tripathi, after failing to get Raja to return, got Pooja’s number from the Kapoors’ family doctor, but she hasn’t come for her either.
According to Kapoor, Raja hatched the plan to get rid of her a few months back, and shifted her in a rented accommodation in Goregaon, “He used to beat me up as I did not approve of his philandering ways. He would give me food once in four days, and sometimes, even lock me up for several days. I was not ready to go to an old-age home, that’s why he planned all this. He deliberately kept me hungry and I fell ill. Then, he got me admitted and fled,” she said.