Late Rishi Kapoor's last film project was Juhi Chawla-starrer Sharmaji Namkeen, directed by debutante Hitesh Bhatia. (Photo: PR Handout) It has been an emotional journey for Juhi Chawla as she completed Sharmaji Namkeen without Rishi Kapoor. She is happy that the dramedy, which marked the late actor’s last screen outing, is releasing next month on his birth anniversary.
Rishi Kapoor passed away on April 30 last year after a prolonged battle with cancer. He had shot for most part of Sharmaji Namkeen with Juhi Chawla in the beginning of 2020. Actor Paresh Rawal later stepped into play his part. In an exclusive interview with indianexpress.com, Juhi Chawla shared that the film will release on September 4, which would be Rishi Kapoor’s 69th birth anniversary.
“We are looking forward to its release on Chintuji’s birthday, 4th September this year,” Juhi said, adding that after Rishi Kapoor’s death, the film’s producers — Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani and Honey Trehan — made sure that it was completed on time.
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Sharing some details about the film, Juhi said that Sharmaji Namkeen is one of the funniest scripts she has ever head and the male character in the film was “tailormade” for Rishi Kapoor.
“It is one of the sweetest, warmest and funniest scripts I have heard in some time. When it was first narrated to me, I was excited! The dialogues and moments of the entire film keep you smiling and chuckling with laughter, and Chintuji’s role was tailor made for him,” Juhi says.
Juhi, in fact, said that she was jealous of how good his role was. Juhi and Rishi reunited on Sharmaji Namkeen, helmed by debutante Hitesh Bhatia, after 2016 drama Chalk n Duster where she has a lead role while the veteran star had a special appearance.
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“If I closed my eyes I felt I could see him in the scenes and hear him say all those lines. As an actor I was almost envious. We began our shoot in earnest last January. Almost the entire cast was in Delhi and we had a lovely time.”
“At the end of the month we took a break. A few months later Chintuji’s health took a turn for the worse and we lost him. That was very very sad. The producers of the film Honey Trehan , Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar took it upon themselves to complete the film,” Juhi said.
Juhi and Rishi made a fantastic pair on screen and gave the audience films like Bol Radha Bol, Luck By Chance and Eena Meena Deeka.
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