Sharmaji Namkeen was released on 31 March. It is the last film of late actor Rishi Kapoor in which Juhi Chawla also played an important role. During a recent interview with News18.com, the actress opened up about working with her ‘Chintu ji’ and revealed how he was always ‘cheerful and funny’ on the sets of his previous film. The actress, who has worked with Rishi Kapoor in several films in the past, told News18.com how the late actor would have gotten impatient with his co-stars if they took too much time for makeup.
“He was always cheerful, he was witty, talented. Sometimes he got impatient and he couldn’t deal with all of us who took the time for hair and makeup. He used to say, ‘Kya karna rahein hai’ ‘Whi toh lagta ho, dekhna kya hai tum logo ko, acting karo’. He was the only himself on the sets, in real life and on screen. He was just Chintu ji. Very cute. Over the years I used to scold him for all of us. And now I find it so funny because we knew he was in his element when he did it all.”
He further mentioned how Sharmaji Namkeen was the first time he saw Rishi Kapoor’s way of working and realized that he used to do all the scenes with such ease. “In this film, in particular, I saw Chintu ji as an actor. The way he used to give shots. I just saw that he was great. I never saw him in any of my previous films because I was so stuck with my part. But this was the first time I actually watched him in awe, he used to do it with ease. He only did a little rehearsal,” she said.
Juhi Chawla also shared an adorable incident of Rishi Kapoor from the sets of Sharmaji Namkeen and revealed what happened when the entire cast gathered for the script reading session.
“Just before starting the shooting of Sharmaji Namkeen, the director said let’s put the whole unit together and everyone will read their part. Chintu ji a bit angry as usual, the cast had arrived and everyone sat down at the table. Then Chintu ji comes. He comes, sits, and says, ‘I’m only here for 30 minutes, I have work, I have to go and I don’t do this script reading. I have never done this in my career. I have come because Amit ji says it is a good exercise. Started reading the script and he started enjoying it a lot. The script was finished reading, the cast left, and they all went home. I’m one of the last people to leave. I was leaving, I was standing and going but Chintu ji is still with the director. He was very funny and it was lovely to work with him,” revealed Juhi.
“There are many such incidents in my career, many. I don’t know whether I have so many with Shah Rukh or Aamir as well because Chintu ji was such a funny character,” the actress said.
He also shared another incident with Rishi Kapoor from his 2009 film, Luck By Chance, and said, “We were shooting for Luck By Chance and usually Chintu ji had a time. All these years I saw him, he used to come at 10 am, at 2 pm he would pack up and go for another shoot. There he used to work from 2 to 9/10 in the afternoon. He used to do these two shifts. He was set. You couldn’t expect him to work further because he had to go home. When we were working on Luck By Chance, the shooting used to start during the day and go on at night. We know how it is during the night, everyone starts getting tired, my employees look at me and I’m like ‘Wait! Chintu ji will leave in a while’ that means we can pack up too. Needless to say, why should we become villains on the sets by saying that we want to go home. Don’t know what Chintu ji was enjoying during the shooting that day. It went on from 8 pm to 10 pm and then till 11 pm and then it was 1 pm and he was on the set. My staff was making big eyes and was like, ‘Why aren’t you saying anything?’ I was like, how can I say anything, there is a senior actor who is not giving up and is going home. All my life, I knew Chintu ji would pack up and leave. what happened to her! He was just going on and on.”
Juhi also revealed how she was shocked when she learned that the makers of Sharmaji Namkeen were planning to scrap the film after Rishi Kapoor’s demise. “When Chintu ji passed away, a few weeks after that, Riteish (producer) called and he said that this is his last work and we should bring it on screen. At that time I was very surprised that he wanted to complete it but how, how was it ever going to happen. The other part of me said, whatever you say, this is such a lovely film and his last act, whatever happens, I will be there.”
Juhi further revealed how Paresh Rawal was roped in for the film after Rishi Kapoor’s demise. She shared that the makers tried several options, including computer graphics, before deciding to take Paresh Rawal on board.
“At the time, they weren’t clear how to do it. They mentioned that maybe we’ll do computer graphics because now things have advanced so much that you can actually use the actors’ faces and expressions and retell the film. I think he tried a lot of things, worked out a lot of options and a few months later he called again and said we will go ahead and play Paresh ji. There is such a film in Hollywood. In which one of the lead actors had passed away and the rest was played by another actor and it was successful. So, with a little bit of hope and aspiration from there, we went back to the sets and completed the film,” she revealed. .
When asked what makes Sharmaji Namkeen special, an emotional Juhi said, “I wish Chintu ji was in the entire film. What makes it memorable is that this is his last work. After that there would be no more Rishi Kapoor films and then the realization that I was on the sets when he did his last act, I was there in the scene.
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