Mumbai: Paresh Rawal, who came on board to shoot the remaining portions of Rishi Kapoor's swansong 'Sharmaji Namkeen', said
that he embraced the role with a sense of responsibility to honour the late star.The 66-year-old Bollywood actor was roped in by 'Excel Entertainment' earlier this year to carry forward the character, for which Rishi Kapoor had shot before his demise in 2020.
"Completing the film, billed as the coming-of-age story of a 60-year-old man, was an emotionally overwhelming experience," said Rawal.
He added, "I respected Rishi Kapoor a lot as a human being. He was the father of my most favourite actor, Ranbir Kapoor, with such a fine talent of the Kapoor family. To do his role, to carry it forward was a responsibility. I knew I had to approach it with a lot of elegance. One cannot take it for granted." Rawal, who had collaborated with Rishi Kapoor on films like 'Damini', 'Hathyar' and 'Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi', finished the filming for the Hitesh Bhatia-directed film a few days ago.
'Sharmaji Namkeen' also features Juhi Chawla, Rishi Kapoor's co-star of films such as 'Bol Radha Bol', 'Eena Meena Deeka' and 'Daraar'.
Rawal shared that it was unfortunate that Rishi Kapoor, who passed away aged 67 after a two-year-long battle with leukaemia in April 2020, could not finish the project.
"He is no more but it is a huge loss for the audience because the film's script is brilliant. I read a script as good as this after a long time. If Rishi Sahab was in this film throughout, he would have created fireworks. Whatever work he has done, it is phenomenal. As an audience member, it was my loss that he could not finish the film," revealed Paresh.
'Sharmaji Namkeen' is produced by 'Excel Entertainment' in association with Honey Trehan and Abhishek Chaubey under their banner 'MacGuffin Pictures'.