Director of Sharmaji Namkeen, Hitesh Bhatia speaks about Gufi Paintal: On sets, he used to regale us with stories of his friendship with Rishi Kapoor sir – Exclusive | Hindi Movie News – Times of India

Senior actor Gufi Paintal passed away yesterday morning. Ever since, remembrances and tributes have poured in from various quarters of the film and television fraternity. One of Gufi Paintal’s last known performances came in Sharmaji Namkeen, which was released last year. ETimes spoke to the film’s director Hitesh Bhatia about his memories of working with Indian Television’s Shakuni Mama.
Bhatia recalled the experiences and shared, “It was a very nice experience collaborating with Gufi Paintal ji on my debut film Sharmaji Namkeen. It wasn’t a very big role that he played in my film, but for that role, I just wanted someone who viewers had seen before and there would be a familiarity. I was stuck to the idea that Gufi ji should play that role ever since the casting team had suggested his name.”
Hitesh was surprised that Gufi Paintal was great friends with his film’s star, the late Rishi Kapoor. He confessed, “I did not know that he shared a deep friendship with Rishi Kapoor ji.” The young filmmaker also recalled Gufi Paintal’s concerns before the shoot began. He said, “Gufi ji was a very humble guy, he was very sweet and even though age was not on his side, he was fine health wise. Before the shoot he was just a little weary. He was thinking how difficult the shoot would be, ‘Will the shoot be hectic?’ he would ask me. I assured him it would not be hectic.”

He further revealed, “Gufi ji was very, very supportive. He always went out of his way, if we needed anything from his performance in the film. I am glad that I could get a chance to work with him.” After Sharmaji Namkeen released, Hitesh spoke to Gufi Paintal. He recalled, “He saw the film and he was very pleasantly surprised. He said, ‘Hitesh, you have made a very good film’. He always used to tell me, ‘Tum zindagi mein bahut duur tak jaoge (You’ll get far in life). Good luck for your future projects’.”
The senior actor always made it a point to support the young filmmaker. Hitesh recalled, “On a normal day, before we would talk about any work, he would always just talk about general stuff. He would always wish me luck for everything. It was just a blessing to have him around and speak to him and share anecdotes about his life with Chintuji. He always used to tell us stories from the past days. I had a lot of fun working with him. He got the character so right, you know, that entire Delhi-Punjabi essence of his role. It was exactly what we wanted.”