Sharmaji Namkeen Review: Rishi Kapoor’s light-hearted comedy brings him back to life
Rishi Kapoor’s Sharmaji Namekeen will teach you self-love, but it most importantly brings back the late actor to life again. While Rishi is the heart and soul of the film, Paresh Rawal has done a beautiful job by stepping into his shoes and finishing it with finesse.
FollowRishi Kapoor’s Sharmaji Namkeen is a posthumous release that is a must-watch for all the ‘Chintu’ fans. The light-hearted film has brought back the late actor to the screens once again and alive among us.
From the start to its end, the 112-minutes long film will leave you with moist eyes, reminding you of the legendary late actor and his legacy in every scene of the film. Sharmaji Namkeen is a sweet and light-hearted take on self-love, but most importantly, it is a beautiful tribute to Rishi Kapoor.
Before his death on April 30, 2020, Rishi Kapoor had short most parts of the film. However, his deteriorating health forced him to stop the shooting mid-way. After his death, the film was nearly shelved but Paresh Rawal’s decision to complete Rishi’s remaining scenes is the reason why the film was able to release nearly two years after his death.
While Rishi Kapoor is the absolute show-stealer of Sharmaji Namkee, every other actor including Paresh Rawal, Juhi Chawla, Suhail Nayyar, Taruk Raina and Satish Kaushik, among others, have delivered a fabulous job.
Director Hitesh Bhatia has also done a fantastic job at delivering a film as beautiful as Sharmaji Namkeen. He has truly captured the essence of Rishi Kapoor in the film along with the flavours of Delhi. Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment have backed the film.
The film begins with an emotional message from Rishi Kapoor’s son Ranbir Kapoor. Sharmaji Namkeen was released on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday, March 31. The makers also released a tribute music video on the eve of its release wherein 11 actors including Ranbir, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Aamir Khan and Farhan Akhtar, among others danced to Rishi’s iconic song ‘Meri Umar Ke Naujawano’.
Story: Sharmaji Namkeen is a story of a 58-year-old widower who is forcefully given retirement from his company. A middle-class man, Nearly half the life of Sharmaji has revolved around his nine-to-five job, selling mixer grinders and blenders. He had only two passions – his job and his love for cooking. He struggles to keep up with his retirement life because of his workaholic attitude and starts doing odd jobs to kill his time. His friend and neighbour, Chaddaji, becomes his confidante who helps him find these jobs. And this is how Sharmaji lands up in a ladies’ kitty group as their special cook.
Sharmaji Namkeen is basically a story about every retired person who has worked all their lives and later struggled to keep up with their after-retirement life. It also shows how following your passion or hobby has no gender or age criteria. This light-hearted comedy has ‘chatpate’ flavours of ‘Dilli’ in it and is literally food for thought.
ALSO READ: Ranbir Kapoor looks dapper in black at Sharmaji Namkeen’s promotions
What worked: Rishi Kapoor’s charming personality will once again win your heart, as he’s the show-stealer of the film – you can’t take your eyes off his innocent smile at any point in time. His humorous self in Sharmaji Namkeen may also remind you of his character ‘Daddu’ from Kapoor and Sons. Rishi’s performance in the film, the way he expresses his emotions and how effortlessly has he shown the life of every retired person and the difficulties they go through adjusting to mundane life are worth all the praise. There truly cannot have been a better choice than Rishi to play a character who loves his family and food, traits that defined the legendary actor himself! One must also praise Paresh Rawal for how smoothly he has stepped in Rishi’s shoes to complete the scenes that were left. Hitesh Bhatia too must take a bow in ensuring that the audience doesn’t feel the transition between Rishi and Paresh. He also did justice to both the actors by dedicating complete scenes to them.
ALSO READ: Watch: Ranbir Kapoor's emotional message ahead of Rishi Kapoor's 'Sharmaji Namkeen' trailer release
What did not work: The only two things that didn’t work for the film are – one, it is the last film of Rishi Kapoor, marking an end of an ear, and two, you would want to watch more and more of him on the screen. Rishi Kapoor is the heart and soul of the film, and knowing that it is his last film, you hope that the film doesn’t end.
Director: Hitesh Bhatia
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Juhi Chawla, Satish Kaushik, Suhail Nayyar, Taaruk Raina, Sheeba Chaddha
Rating: This cute story of a retired man gets 3.5 stars from us.
