The dawn of new decade — year 2020 — is proving to be unfortunate for the world. Not only we have lost many lives to the COVID-19 global pandemic which has shook our core, but the ill-fated and subsequent demise of some of the finest actors in the world, Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor, has left a gaping hole in our hearts.
Akshay Kumar rightfully said that “we are living in the midst of a nightmare…” It is indeed darkest hour for the Indian film industry, as well as world cinema, that we have lost two of the most talented actors over just a span of two days. The two legendary actors have worked together only once in 2013’s film D-Day.
Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor aka Chintoo jee was a legendary actor who established himself as Bollywood’s chocolate boy in his hey days and remained a fan favourite till he breathed his last. His is a fascinating journey from a charming young boy who stole millions of hearts to a menacing Rauf Lala in the remake of Agneepath and from a naughty beloved granddad in Kapoor & Sons to the patriarch of a Muslim family in Mulk. Undoubtedly, the veteran was a versatile artist and his demise marks an end to a glorious chapter in Hindi cinema.
His upcoming filmsÂ
Rishi Kapoor was last seen in the film The Body, which released in December 2019. Despite being diagnosed with cancer two years ago, the actor did not retire from his film career.
The Intern
The Intern is an Indian adaptation of Robert De Niro-Anne Hathaway starrer 2015 Hollywood film of the same name. Azure Entertainment and Warner Bros India were to jointly produce the project along with Deepika’s Ka Productions. We are not sure if work started on the project which was a 2021 release, but we are sad that the world can no longer see the amazing camaraderie between Deepika Padukone and Chintoo jee.
Deepika made the announcement in January 2020:
Thrilled to present my next!🎞
The Indian adaptation of #TheIntern
A 2021 release!
Presented by @_KaProductions @warnerbrosindia and @iAmAzure
See you at the movies!@chintskap pic.twitter.com/c3Fmr2H7GD
— Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) January 27, 2020
“The Intern is a very relevant film for the present-day Indian workplace milieu and it showcases human relationships beautifully. I am very excited to be working with Deepika and being a part of this heart-warming story,” Rishi Kapoor had said in a statement.
Sharmaji Namkeen
His other project, Sharmaji Namkeen with Juhi Chawla, was at the filming stages. The actor had signed on the film after which he was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and had to go to the US for treatment. Work on the film began in December 2019, when Rishi was back in India after almost a year of treatment in the US. Juhi shared pictures of herself, Rishi and the other team members on Twitter.
Wishing ‘SHARMAJI NAMKEEN ‘ all the very very best, as shooting starts to roll !! May it be one of the most charming films of 2020 ..!!😇🥰 @chintskap @ritesh_sid @FarOutAkhtar @HoneyTrehan pic.twitter.com/C2JCXo26e4
— Juhi Chawla (@iam_juhi) December 9, 2019
With Rishi’s passing, the fate of the film is yet to be decided but we hope that the makers release his scenes and we can see Juhi and Rishi Kapoor on screen once more!
Read: Pakistani celebs mourn death of Bollywood legend Rishi Kapoor
Irrfan Khan
India’s finest actor and its most successful exports to Hollywood, Irrfan Khan is a story of triumph. He was the ultimate character actor who lived and breathed a new life in every film. With his bulging eyes and equally deep intellect, Irrfan was a versatile actor who can play the hero (not the conventional-looking one as he persistently emphasized) as we saw in Qarib Qarib Singlle and Piku, a villain or a common man whose truth lies somewhere in between (Lunchbox, Hindi Medium, Madaari, Life of Pi).
Irrfan was on a break for some time as he was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour. His last film — Angrezi Medium — just released in March 2020. According to Republic World, the actor has reportedly signed two other films.
The Wicked Path
The Wicked Path is an adventure drama which is expected to release in the year 2022. The plot of the film revolves around the gun laws and how they are interpreted by the audience. The film is being written and directed by Salim Khassa. Irrfan Khan was part of the project along with Robert Clohessy and Ken Davitian amongst others. The Wicked Path is in the production stage and does not have a release date yet.
Besan
Besan is a drama film directed by Sai Kabir. It stars Anil Kapoor and Nimrat Kaur in pivotal roles along with Irrfan Khan. Not much information is available about the film.
Takadum
There are also rumours about a Homi Adajania film titled Takadum which stars Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineet Chopra. Reports circulated that Irrfan was part of the project but no details were revealed.
