In Memoriam, A teary eyed Amitabh Bachchan remembers Rishi Kapoor.

Amitabh Bachchan paid a heartfelt tribute to one of his most popular co-star and late actor Rishi Kapoor during the i For India concert on Sunday which was telecasted live on Facebook. He talked about his journey from being a child with mischief on his eyes to becoming an actor whose every word was believable. The 77-year-old had tears in his eyes as he ended his tribute saying “he must have gone with a gentle smile.”

Sitting in the open area of his residence in Mumbai and clad in his usual white shawl, Amitabh began his tribute by recalling the day he saw a young Rishi for the first time at veteran filmmaker and superstar Raj Kapoor’s house.

T 3520 - In Memoriam .. pic.twitter.com/zIlVUn3qpg

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) May 3, 2020

Talking about his prep at the RK Studios, Amitabh said, “I would see him more often after, at RK Studios, when he trained as an actor for his film to be made, Bobby a diligent enthusiastic youngster, ready to pounce onto every learning that came his way, in that famous large and legendary makeup room, of Raj ji at the end of the first-floor corridor of makeup rooms.” 

Claiming how his determined and confident walk resembled his grandfather Prithvi Raj Kapoor, he said, “a walk I had noticed in one of his earlier films .. that walk .. I never found it in any other.” The actor went on to share the names of the films which brought them together - Naseeb, Amar Akbar Anthony, and the most recent, 102 Not Out.

He added how “when he spoke his lines, you believed every word of it as there was never an alternative, its genuineness was beyond question”. Talking about his playful attitude on and offsets, he said, “Even in the gravest sequences he would discover that comedic spark and we would all just crack up. Not just on set, if you were with him at any formal event, he would find that little distractive light-hearted gem to expand on and lighten the situation.” 

Amitabh also shared, “When there was a time-lapse as the shot got readied during a shoot, he would bring out his playing cards, or at times pull out his rather complicated Bagatelle board and invite others to play, a competition, not just for fun, a serious competition.”

His eyes turned moist as he spoke about his last days. “During his time of diagnosis and his treatment he never ever lamented his condition .. it was always .. ‘see you soon, just a routine visit to the hospital .. I’ll be back shortly. I never visited him in Hospital .. I never wanted to see the distress on his smiling cherubic face. But I am certain .. when he went, he must have gone with a gentle smile,” he said.