Juhi Chawla remembers Rishi Kapoor: You were the most spontaneous, effortless actor ever

Mumbai, Sep 5 (IANS) On the occasion of his 73rd birth anniversary, Juhi Chawla remembered late star Rishi Kapoor and said that she misses all the times they “rolled with laughter”, when he “scolded” her and the many times he “destroyed” the actress at scrabble.

Juhi took to Instagram stories, where she shared a still from Rishi Kapoor’s posthumous final film appearance in the film “Sharmaji Namkeen”, which released in 2022.

“Chintuji... You were the mosssttt spontaneous, effortless actor ever...!! Miss all the times we rolled with laughter, when you scolded us, the many times you destroyed me at scrabble. It was SUCH fun working with you. Miss you Chintuji. Big hug wherever you are!” Juhi wrote as the caption.

Sharmaji Namkeen is a comedy drama film written and directed by debutante Hitesh Bhatia. Marking the first instance in Hindi film history of two actors playing the same character simultaneously, it stars Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal as the titular character, with Juhi Chawla, Satish Kaushik, Sheeba Chaddha, Isha Talwar, Suhail Nayyar and Taaruk Raina in supporting roles.

The film began production in January 2020 but filming was halted due to Rishi Kapoor's death on 30 April 2020. Paresh Rawal was cast to finish Kapoor's remaining scenes.

The film followed the story of Brij Gopal, who upon being forced to retire sets off to explore his culinary interests. However, his new aspirations attract several adverse reactions from his family members.

Rishi Kapoor was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018 and went to New York City for treatment. After successful treatment for a year, he returned to India a year later. However, he was admitted to Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital on 29 April 2020 owing to breathing difficulties. He died on 30 April 2020 from recurrence of leukemia.

Neetu and Rishi Kapoor got married in 1980. In 2017, he released his autobiography Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored, in which he wrote the book along with Meena Iyer.

--IANS

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