Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor have often played roles in the same film. The two were one of the most popular duos on screen with films like Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Coolie (1983), Naseeb (1981) and Kabhi Kabhie (1976) being the most prominent ones. Now, it seems the duo is set to replicate their classic magic, in an older avatar.
The news broke when Kapoor tweeted from his social media account saying, "Wonderful to work again with the Legendary Amitabh Bachchan. Thank you Amitji, it never felt the 26 years old hiatus.We connected instantly!"
The film, directed by Shukla, is an adaptation of Saumya Joshi's Gujarati comedy play by the same name. Shukla said, "I had produced the original play and knew it could be turned into a film for its unique plot and humour. Saumya has written the film brilliantly."
The first picture of the film shows a quirky, mischievous Gandalf-ish Bachchan as the 102-year-old father, while Kapoor looks grumpy as his 75-year-old son. The story of the play revolves around a 102-year-old man, who wishes to go to the highest post office in the world, situated in Ladakh, and send postcards from there to his friends and his son, who is 75-years-old.
Interestingly, this slice of life film will show the father (Bachchan) with a mental age of 26 years and is full of life and optimism. On the other hand, his 75-year-old son has closed the doors to life and its beauty. The father feels that he needs to bring normalcy to his son's dull and morose life.
That probably explains Kapoor's grumpy expression on the poster.
A report in the tabloid, Mumbai Mirror, quoted film director Shukla as saying, "Amitji and Rishiji are collaborating after 26 years. They are playing Gujarati characters for the first time. Being a Gujarati myself, I had certain references in my mind which we used to create their look."
The team has already shot for the introductory sequences of the two characters on Wednesday, and will continue to shoot in Mumbai till the end of the month. The director has also revealed that the two veteran actors will also be delivering some lines in Gujarati for the film.
102 Not Out will be Bachchan's second big collaboration after joining Aamir Khan in Thugs of Hindostan.