Imtiaz Ali reveals why Rishi Kapoor never did late-night shoots, recalls bonding over non-veg food

Rishi Kapoor, Imtiaz Ali

Legendary actor Rishi Kapoor was born on September 4, 1952. Often branded as Bollywood's first chocolate boy, Rishi touched the heights of stardom in the film industry with iconic roles in blockbuster hits like 'Bobby', 'Chandni', 'Karz', and many others. Ace filmmaker Imtiaz Ali, who was the latest guest on Mid-day's Sit With Hitlist series recalled working with Rishi Kapoor in ‘Love Aaj Kal'. He discussed how they bonded over non-vegetarian food and also revealed why the actor never did late-night shoots.

Rishi Kapoor's love for non-vegetarian food

Imtiaz Ali was shooting for ‘Love Aaj Kal' starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone in London along with Rishi Kapoor. Sharing a hilarious anecdote from the sets, he said, "We used to eat in a caravan truck. I didn't know that Rishi Ji's already come in. I asked someone, ‘What is the non-veg dish today?' The person said, ‘It's chicken so and so'. Before he could go on, I said, ‘Chicken? I am saying non-vegetarian. Is chicken non-vegetarian?' And then suddenly someone turned, and Rishi ji is like, ‘You said that?' I was like, ‘Yes'. He said, ‘Come here. You will eat with me now. This is exactly my view. They also irritate me by saying chicken when I'm asking for non-vegetarian, and they're giving me chicken. What nonsense? You and I will eat together. We'll all always eat the same dish.' I said, wow, this is how you warm up to the actor. Right. Like, ‘Oh, this red meat has led me to be a friend of Rishiji'. Rishiji is giving me the privilege of eating with him."

Rishi Kapoor would never do late-night shoots

When Imtiaz was asked if Rishi was hard to direct and the rumours about him clocking out early and not doing rehearsals, he replied, "There are all kinds of actors and I've got to understand what works for an actor and I've had to see what works for him and it was just the same. I was aware of the fact that he was not going to stay beyond a certain point at night because not only are his evenings precious, but his mornings the next day also are important to him. At 10 PM, he was not going to go and have a gala time or have a party, just go to sleep."

Rishi Kapoor's death

Rishi Kapoor died at the age of 67 on April 30, 2020, after a two-year battle with leukemia. He was last seen in 'Sharmaji Namkeen'. He breathed his last midway through the shoot of the film. Paresh Rawal stepped into his shoes and finished filming his remaining scenes.