Rishi Kapoor's last film Sharmaji Namkeen to be completed with VFX

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor's sudden demise on 30 April was a big blow to the Hindi film industry. The 67-year-old actor had resumed shooting for his upcoming film Sharmaji Namkeen (2020) after completing his cancer treatment in the USA last year.

Kapoor was also part of the official remake of The Intern (2015) that was slated to release next year. While the future of that film with Deepika Padukone is uncertain, Kapoor had completed major portions of the shoot of Sharmaji Namkeen in January this year. The producers were planning to complete the remaining portion in March, but due to nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, their schedule got postponed. 

The makers are now planning to use VFX to complete the remaining portions. "We will be using advanced technology, an amalgamation of VFX and some special technique, to finish the film without compromising on the quality. We are in discussion with a few [VFX studios] and are figuring out the way forward," the film's co-producer Honey Trehan told the newspaper Mid-day.

The producer feels that Kapoor's fans deserve to say a proper goodbye to the veteran actor. "We want to take this film to the theatres for his friends, family, and fans. We all owe this to Rishiji, one of the silver screen legends. I am grateful to [co-producers] Ritesh [Sidhwani] and Farhan [Akhtar] for investing in the movie not just monetarily, but also emotionally," Trehan added.

Sharmaji Namkeen, also starring Juhi Chawla, is about a man in his 60s who rediscovers life after retirement. The slice-of-life film had gone on floors last December. Directed by Hitesh Bhatia, Sharmaji Namkeen is produced under Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s banner Excel Entertainment, in collaboration with Honey Trehan.