Juhi Chawla recalls ‘fondest’ memory of Rishi Kapoor: ‘Aake pehle daantenge, and then…’

Juhi Chawla recalled her ‘fondest’ memory of the late Rishi Kapoor, when he refused to attend a script reading session, but ended up enjoying the process so much, he stayed back after his co-stars had left. Juhi said that the incident captures Rishi Kapoor’s true essence–that he was someone who could be both hot and cold. The actors will soon be seen together in the upcoming Sharmaji Namkeen, which serves as Rishi’s final film.
In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Juhi, who has worked with the late actor on four occasions, said that a script reading session was organised for the entire cast, but Rishi refused to attend. He was adamant about it even on the day, and was persuaded to drop after being told that everybody had arrived and was waiting for him.

She said, “He comes and he sits at the head of the table. He says, ‘Dekho, I have other work, I’m going to leave in half-an-hour. Main reading karne wala bhi nahi hoon, somebody else is going to read my lines. Main toh yeh karta bhi nahi hoon, yeh toh Amit ji karte hain, and he has told me it’s a very good exercise. But it’s not for me’.”
Juhi said that two-and-a-half hours went , and everybody left, but ‘Chintu ji’ was still there, talking to director Hitesh Bhatia. “He was the last person to leave that day,” he said. Juhi concluded, “That was Chintu ji, aake pehle daantenge, then he’ll warm up to everybody.”
Rishi Kapoor died mid-way through production in 2020. After his death, several options were weighed–the team considered CGI, they also contemplated getting Rishi’s son Ranbir Kapoor to take over the role under prosthetics. Ultimately, Paresh Rawal stepped in to help finish filming the remaining scenes. Sharmaji Namkeen is slated to be released on Amazon Prime Video on March 31.