Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor were being eyed for this remake, about a man and his terminally ill father

Father-son duo Rishi and Ranbir Kapoor were being eyed for a remake of the highest grossing Gujarati film, Chaal Jeevi Laiye -- about a son who goes on a vacation with his terminally ill father.

Actor Rishi Kapoor had expressed his desire to star in a remake of a Gujarati film alongside his son, Ranbir Kapoor. Rishi died earlier this year, weeks after talks had begun for him to appear in a remake of Gujarati film Chaal Jeevi Laiye.

Rishi Kapoor died earlier this year.

A new report quoted a source as saying that Rishi had ‘loved’ the original film and had even convinced Ranbir to do the film with him.

Ritesh Laalan, CEO of the production company behind Chaal Jeevi Laiye told Bollywood Hungama, “Yes, we were planning to cast Rishi sir and Ranbir Kapoor in the Hindi remake. We initiated talks with Rishi’s manager in March, just before the lockdown. But everything went on a backburner due to the pandemic. And then sadly, Rishi sir passed away.” He said that talks with Ranbir hadn’t yet begun.

The duo previously starred together in the critical and commercial flop Besharam. Chaal Jeevi Laiye is about a workaholic man who takes his terminally ill father on a vacation, to fulfil his dying wish.

Ritesh said that the story would have resonated with audiences, especially with Rishi and Ranbir on board. “It would have been a great casting coup. Viewers would have surely connected with the casting and the storyline more so when they would have seen both of them playing father and son. Not just viewers, even Rishi sir and Ranbir would have also been able to relate with the storyline,” he said.

Chaal Jeevi Laiye is the highest grossing Gujarati film ever, by a wide margin. It reportedly made between ₹40 and 50 crore theatrically.

Rishi Kapoor’s final film in theatres was The Body. Ranbir, meanwhile, hasn’t appeared in a film since 2018’s Sanju. He has Brahmastra and Shamshera in the pipeline.

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