Bollywood veteran Rishi Kapoor was never the one to mention his illness and was always full of positive attitude, says filmmaker Honey Trehan as he fondly remembers working with the actor on his last film, "Sharmaji Namkeen".
Kapoor died at the age of 67 on April 30 after a two year long battle with leukaemia at H N Reliance hospital in south Mumbai.
The film is produced by Excel Entertainment in association with Trehan and Abhishek Choubey under their banner MacGuffin Pictures. It is directed by the debutant Hitesh Bhatia.
"It is a coming-of-age story of a 60-year-old man. It is about a middle-class man who wants to discover life after retirement. This film was meant for him, he is the DNA of the film. I was looking to work with Rishi sir for the longest time and I am glad this script clicked well," Trehan told PTI in an interview.
The producer said he was amazed by the actor's professionalism.
"He was so child-like, he was like a newcomer. He was so charged up. At the age of 67, he would shoot for 10-12 hours a day. There was no negative thought ever. There was no mention about his illness.
"And if you would ask him, 'How are you feeling?' He would say, 'How am I looking?' His attitude was commendable."
Asked if the shooting schedule was changed due to his health, Trehan said, "He never allowed it."
"He knew it would have been very difficult for the unit to shift any scene or sequence because he is there in every scene. He didn't want us to put in an uncomfortable situation and he rather put himself into an uncomfortable situation."
"The film went on floors in December in Mumbai then we moved to Delhi and the last schedule was planned in Mumbai. But then COVID-19 warnings came and we were planning how to go ahead. We decided to wait and shoot once the lockdown lifted."