Rishi Kapoor’s last film Sharmaji Namkeen has been in the headlines ever since its announcement was made. The movie is special for fans as it will mark the thespian’s final performance, post the heartbreaking news of his death. Sharmaji Namjkeen’s director and writer Hiten Bhatia in a recent interview with Indian Express shared about the Bobby actor’s final film and how he insisted on taking a close-up shot, during his last shooting sequence for the movie.
Hitesh remembered Rishi Kapoor’s last scene in conversation with the news portal, “The last scene we shot with Chintu ji was a kulfi scene. And it is such an amazing sequence to recall.” Talking about it, Hitesh said he was okay with the shot and wanted to wrap up, but Rishi Kapoor insisted to take his close up.
“The last shot that he ever gave, I didn’t want to take a close-up. I was like, ‘We don’t need the close-up. We are done with the scene. Let’s wrap it.’ Chintu ji, who never insists, wanted me to take the close-up as he believed it will add to the scene. The light was going badly. So, he asked the DOP to make the close-up happen no matter what. And eventually, we did the shot, not knowing it will become the last shot of his life,” Hitesh choked up as he recalled the scene.
He termed the film a “roller-coaster journey” — from happy moments to the heartbreaking news of Rishi Kapoor’s death, the film saw every situation one can possibly imagine. “When Chintu ji passed away, at a certain level, the thought that this film is now over and it won’t get completed was staring at me. There was just no precedence to finish this film. So, from that thought to finishing the film and today, it is about to release, is honestly a dream come true. These things just don’t happen,” Bhatia told the news outlet.
After the demise of the iconic actor, the film’s team came up with different ideas to complete its filming. Bhatia revealed that at one point, they also thought of roping in Ranbir Kapoor to step into the shoes of Rishi Kapoor. “This film has got a life of its own. We wanted to stay true to what we started. There was an emotional commitment to ourselves, Ranbir Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor. Ranbir, Farhan and Ritesh were very clear that it was Chintu ji’s last film, which is why the idea of Ranbir donning prosthetics and coming on board to finish the film was considered first. We seriously considered that, but it didn’t go anywhere,” Hitesh said.
The director shared that eventually, Paresh Rawal joined the team to complete the film. As per Hitesh Bhatia, the Oh My God actor was on board in 10-15 minutes of the film being offered to him.
“When Pareshji came on board, it was more to do with him than me. As an actor, it is a very difficult call because this is nothing like he or any of us has done before. You don’t know if any of it will eventually make sense or look good. But Pareshji, very early on, decided that he believes in the script and really likes it. He also came from an emotional point that it was Chintu ji’s last film. Within 10-15 minutes, he was on board. Again, working with him was pure joy. He made the character his own. There was no brief to him about how to approach it, but it all worked out well in the end,” Hitesh revealed.
Sharmaji Namkeen is set to release on Amazon Prime Video on March 31, and it boasts of a stellar star cast. The Late Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal are seen alongside Juhi Chawla, Suhail Nayyar, Taaruk Raina, Satish Kaushik, Sheeba Chaddha, and Isha Talwar. In a first for Hindi cinema, Sharmaji Namkeen features two veteran actors Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal playing the same character. Directed by Hitesh Bhatia and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the banner of Excel Entertainment in association with Honey Trehan and Abhishek Chaubey of MacGuffin Pictures, Sharmaji Namkeen will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on March 31.
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