When Irrfan Khan called Rishi Kapoor ‘hot liquid’

Neeta Shetty, Apr 30, 2020, 1:17 PM IST

Mumbai: It is indeed a black day for Indian cinema having lost two of its most talented actors in a days span. The shock of actor Irrfan’s demise had not yet sunk in, when the news of Rishi Kapoor’s death left everyone aghast.

Notably both the actors were battling cancer and had flown back to India after undergoing treatment abroad.

Condolences have been pouring in for both the actors from all sections of the society. Amitabh Bachchan who has shared screen space with both the actors tweeted today morning that he was destroyed.

Unlike Irrfan who had to struggle before he got a real break in the movie industry, Rishi Kapoor was born to the legendary Kapoor family and his first on-screen appearance was in the blockbuster movie Shree 420. He was aged only three then.

In 1973, Rishi was cast in a lead role in Bobby, a romantic film produced and directed by his father Raj Kapoor which turned out to be a block buster at the box office. In an interview later, Rishi said that while many thought that the movie Bobby was made to launch him as an actor, his father originally wanted to cast Rajesh Khanna for the role.

From the lover boy in the 80’s era, to the villainous role in Agneepath in 2012, Rishi Kapoor has proved his versatility on the cinematic screen.

Rishi and Irrfan were cast together in the 2013 movie D-Day. Without any doubts, both of them stole the show in the movie also featuring Arjun Rampal, Huma Qureshi and Shruti Hasan.

‘D-Day’ is a story of 4 RAW agents – Rudra (Arjun Rampal) a former army officer, Wali (Irrfan Khan) an Indian living in disguise across the border, Zoya (Huma Qureshi) and Aslam ( Aakash Dahiya) a criminal-turned-intelligence agent – on a mission to bring back Iqbal (Rishi Kapoor), who has been conveniently seeking refuge in Pakistan, alive to India.

During the promos for the movie, Irrfan, in an interview said that he had watched all of Rishi’s films and he never thought he could be Rishi Kapoor during his struggling days. His quote read, “My cousin is his ultimate fan, though I have watched all his movies. I never thought I had it in me to be a Rishi Kapoor. He is hot liquid. He has worked on cultivating his craft so well and he is one of those stars you never have enough of, even if he is doing the same thing, movie after movie. I think that’s what makes his second innings so spectacular. He doesn’t have to be a star anymore, so he is having a blast being an actor.”