The director of the films like "Hum Tum" and "Fanaa", Kunal Kohli says that both the characters that Rishi Kapoor played, could have not played by anyone else. Kohli also added that the late actor was loved across generations because of his honesty and sense of humour.
Growing up watching films like "Karz" and "Khel Khel Mein", it was a dream for Kunal to work with Rishi Kapoor on his debut film.
Recalling the first scene in which he directed the late actor, Kunal told : "I was very excited and looking forward to the moment. We were shooting the scene in which Arjun (Rishi's character name in the film) throws away all the bags of his son Karan out of the house. I said 'cut' and then I told him that we want one more. He asked me, 'Why? What do you want that is missing in this shot?' I explained, 'I want you to smile after you close the door because you are actually not upset but fooling around with your son!'. Rishi ji looked at me and said, 'I am glad that you know exactly what you want. I usually get upset when the director doesn't have the clarity to ask something from the actor. Let's do it again'."
The director mentioned that Rishi Kapoor comes from the generation of actors where the director's used to be the final word.
"Rishi ji worked with legends like his father Raj Kapoor to Yash Chopra, Ramesh Talwar, and Manmohan Desai. So for him, clarity form director mattered."
Asked about casting Kapoor in his films, Kunal said: "I couldn't imagine anyone else but Rishiji to play Arjun Kapoor and Zulfikar (in 'Hum Tum' and 'Fanaa' respectively). I needed an actor like him to give life to these characters. Although I never worked with him, for 'Hum Tum' I wanted only him to play Arjun Kapoor, the father of the protagonist."
The late actor is not only loved by people of his generation but also youngsters.
"I think he is loved by generations because he was honest. And even he criticises, he tells you the truth. Yes, people say that he used to bully but he bullied with love. He had a different kind of sense of humour, and he had a heart of gold. He had that affection towards people!"
( With inputs from IANS )