‘Rishi Kapoor could beat any actor hollow, took my attention away from Saif in Hum Tum’: Sharmila Tagore

Actor Sharmila Tagore has written about the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor. The actors died on consecutive days last week.

She wrote for Dawn, “Two of my beloved actors and stars, both on the cusp of greater glories, both gone ahead of time, both leaving behind not only their personal families but also their extended families of film lovers and fans.”

She continued, “There wasn’t even an opportunity to say goodbye. The passing of Rishi and Irrfan — how does one even commit that phrase into writing — leaves me devastated. At this moment, I cannot begin to contemplate the enormous void that these magnificent actors have left behind. Who can possibly fill the gap? Do we even want to fill the gap?”

Also read: Meenakshi Seshadri’s final goodbye to Damini co-star Rishi Kapoor: ‘I will remember you Rishi ji always’

The actor wrote eloquently about how, despite having such different approaches to acting, both Rishi and Irrfan were equally gifted. “No two actors could be more different in their approaches to the craft. Rishi embraced his characters with such vivacity and enthusiasm that it was impossible to resist his charm,” she wrote, mentioning that when he arrived on the scene in Hum Tum, she found her attention wavering from her son, Saif Ali Khan, to Rishi.

“As an actor, Rishi understood the integrity of the scene as a whole, allowing his co-stars the space without overwhelming them with his star persona,” she wrote, and added, “On the other hand, Irrfan was a master of the understated. His deadpan amused demeanour and his casual throwaway delivery were in direct contrast to Rishi’s.”

Also read: Rishi Kapoor said Irrfan Khan doesn’t know acting after he improvised a D-Day scene

Sharmila wrote that Rishi, towards the end of his career, was finally living up to his potential. “You just have to watch him feed off Amitabh Bachchan in 102 Not Out to realise that on his day he could beat any actor hollow,” she wrote, adding that Mulk is her favourite Rishi Kapoor performance.

Irrfan died on Wednesday at 53 years old after battling neuroendocrine tumour for two years. Rishi Kapoor died a day later on Thursday at 67 after fighting leukaemia for more than a year.

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