Rishi Raj Kapoor, the second son of legendary actor-director Raj Kapoor, was famous in his own right in Indian cinema. He was famously called the Romance King of Bollywood. With his acting skills and charm, he won the hearts of millions during his four decades in the Hindi film industry and making him a pleasure to watch on the big screen. He was a versatile actor who mainly played romantic roles in his movies. Unfortunately, at the age of 67, he died of cancer on April 30, 2020.
Sharmaji Namkeen was in the middle of production when he passed away. The makers of the film found an interesting way to solve the problem. They added another actor, Paresh Rawal, to the cast. Rawal is an award-winning senior actor who is a recipient of various accolades. The actor shared his experience of joining the film on social media while paying tribute to late actor Rishi Kapoor. He wrote, “#SharmajiNamkeen Playing him with him was a unique experience. My tribute to late Shri Rishi Kapoor Saab.”
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
In the history of Indian cinema, this is the first time two actors have played one character in a movie. You will notice Paresh and Rishi dressed in indistinguishable outfits in the trailer.
Plot and Cast
The movie describes the story of a middle-class widower from Delhi who used to work as a manager in Madhuban Appliances. Against his wishes, the 58-year-old was asked to take early retirement. Brij Gopal Sharma (B.G. Sharma), played by Paresh Rawal and Rishi Kapoor, was used to working his entire life and finds it challenging to enjoy retirement. As someone who likes to keep himself busy, he’s left with ample time in his hands. He passed the time by installing a water tank alarm in his neighbor’s house and then tried his hand at Zumba. Every time he had something suggested, he was open to trying it out. He even considered becoming a realtor or working at an NGO by giving tuition to children. He even considered opening a food stall.
He runs every idea in his mind by his two sons; the elder son, Rinku, played by Suhail Nayyar, and Vincy, played by Taaruk Raina. But they brush it off and keep telling him to just enjoy his time in retirement. As Sharmaji pursues his hobby of cooking by taking it further, he’s tricked by his close friend, Chaddha, played by Satish Kaushik, into cooking for a kitty party. While he was hesitant and ashamed at first, he found himself rather enjoying going after his passion for cooking and even formed a bond with the ladies. Veena Manchanda, played by the stunning Juhi Chawla, becomes his confidante. The group of women also consists of Manju Gulati, played by Sheeba Chaddha, Rupali Dhingra, played by Ayesha Raza, Aarti Bhatia, played by Sulagna, and Urmi Kaul, played by Isha Talwar. We also see Parmeet Sethi in the film playing the West Delhi Mayor, Robbie.
Sharmaji Namkeen is a simple tale showing post-retirement life struggles. The movie is written and directed by Hitesh Bhatia along with Supratik Sen and produced by Excel Entertainment in association with Abhishek Choubey and Trehan under MacGuffin Pictures.
A Bittersweet Tribute
Rishi Kapoor’s son, Ranbir Kapoor, was also considered to complete the role after his demise. Before the trailer was released, the filmmakers shared a video of Ranbir Kapoor calling the movie one of his fondest memories of his father, Rishi Kapoor. In the video, Ranbir also said, “We thought of trying VFX, or I could wear prosthetics and complete the role, but nothing was working out. It was a tough time for all of us.”
Ranbir mentioned that the film was a challenging period in his father’s life. A few days had passed starting the film when Rishi’s blood work reports came in, and there was speculation that he might have leukemia. This meant that he had to go to America to start his treatment as soon as possible. It took a little time to persuade the late actor to depart for America. Ranbir also disclosed that the entire time he was there, he only spoke about the film Sharmaji Namkeen. “It used to pain him, it used to disturb him that he started a film, and he could not complete it,” said Ranbir Kapoor.
But, later, after he was done with his treatment, he immediately returned and started shooting for Sharmaji Namkeen. Unfortunately, life threw a curveball, and Rishi could not complete this film.
In an interview with Pinkvilla, director Hitesh said that his wife Neetu Kapoor and son, Ranbir were quite sentimental after watching the movie. “The film is very emotional for them. It is Rishi Kapoor’s last film, and it was very difficult,” he added. Hitesh also mentioned that both had enjoyed the movie and sent love to the entire team.
