Exclusive! Rishi Kapoor wanted to work with Ranbir Kapoor in Hindi remake of Gujarati film 'Chaal Jeevi Laiye'; director Vipul Mehta reveals details

Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor last worked together in Abhinav Kashyap's action-comedy 'Besharam'. Their dynamic father-son relationship was set to be reimagined on the big screen with the Hindi remake of director Vipul Mehta's Gujarati blockbuster 'Chaal Jeevi Laiye'.
ETimes got in touch with director Mehta and the film's producer Rashmin Majithia, and CEO of Coconut Motion Pictures, Ritesh Laalan, who revealed in detail about their dream project that sadly didn't take off.
"In February (2020) we had spoken to Rishi Kapoor and his manager, and they were supposed to talk to Ranbir Kapoor about the film. But, he was busy with some other film (Brahmastra). In March, we were to schedule a special screening of ‘Chaal Jeevi Laiye’ for Rishi and Ranbir to watch the film, but then the pandemic happened," Laalan said while recalling how the team reached out to the father-son duo to formally kick off work on the Hindi remake.
Producer Rashmin went on to add, "Rishiji was very keen to do the film. We wanted them as father and son because their chemistry would work wonders. The theme of the film also suited them the best, but is very unfortunate that we all won’t get to see their dynamic relationship play out on-screen ever again."
Rishi took ill and passed away on April 30, after a long battle with cancer.
Speaking about the moving plot and its universal appeal, Mehta said, "In the film, the father has a terminal illness and it is his last wish to go to Kedarnath. On realising that his father is dying, his workaholic son decides to go with him. The beauty of this story is that a dying father shows his son how to appreciate and live life."

The director went on to share that he had reached out to Rishi in the past as well to play a role in his Gujarati film ‘Carry On Kesar’, which eventually went on to star Supriya Pathak Kapur and Darshan Jariwala.
"I had narrated a story to Rishiji, 3 years ago and we were supposed to do the film together. He had told me that he hadn’t heard such a story in the last five years," he recalled.
Opening up about Rishi's reaction to the narration, Ritesh Laalan said, "I think it must have been the father and son plot that he liked."
He presumed, “He liked it because of the story and maybe, he even identified with the character and that is why he wanted to see the film."
Had Kapoor Sr and RK watched the film, he said, "I’m sure they would have broken down."
Sharing their shock on hearing of Rishi's passing, director Mehta said, "News of his death came as a shocker to the whole team. He had already kicked off his second innings and began shooting after his return from New York. We thought about going ahead with a Hindi remake back in October 2019 and approached him with the script around March 2020."
While admitting that Rishi and Ranbir's on-screen pairing was unparallel, to any other, the film's producers are keen to carry on with their plans to get cracking on a Hindi remake with a prominent father-son duo. "The script is ready and we are confident of the content. We were looking for a lot of combinations including Shahid Kapoor and Pankaj Kapur, Anil Kapoor and Harshvardhan Kapoor. We even got in touch with Amitabh Bachchan to star with Abhishek Bachchan, but he wasn’t signing anything at the time," said director Mehta.

Meanwhile, Laalan said, "We also think Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Govinda can fit this role of a cheerful father. They have done some memorable comical and light-hearted roles."
"Our preference now is a celebrity father-son collaboration because that is where the chemistry would come into play. Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan Khan are a dream pair, but I doubt that he would like to have his son doing this as his first film," he added.
The film that released in February 2019, went on to become one of Gujarati cinema's biggest box office hits which also winning critical acclaim for its touching story. The film that re-released in theatres in October, after the lockdown, has still been drawing in the masses, partly thanks to the makers opting for the traditional theatrical screening over an OTT release.
For the leading lady's role, in the Hindi remake, the producer said, "This film is also a heroine film and Aarohi Patel did a fantastic job. For the Hindi remake, we would like to cast, Shraddha Kapoor or Alia Bhatt or Parineeti Chopra because all these girls can do a wonderful job with the character."