As filmmaker Anubhav Sinha and actor Taapsee Pannu on Tuesday celebrated the third anniversary of their critically-acclaimed drama "Mulk", they paid tributes to Rishi Kapoor and said the late screen icon will always be missed. The Uttar Pradesh-set film followed the life of a Muslim family trying to reclaim its honour after one of its member gets involved in terrorism. Kapoor played the family patriarch, Murad Ali Mohammed, who faces bigotry and is forced to prove his love for the country as a Muslim.
Pannu featured in the film as Kapoor's daughter-in-law, Advocate Aarti Mohammed, who fights for the family. The actor took to Twitter and shared a video, featuring scenes of Kapoor, who died last year after a battle with leukaemia.
"Three years of a film that will always remain a special one. Still remember the time we spent together with #RishiKapoor ji. Today as the film completes 3 years, here's a tribute to our legendary actor, Murad Ali Mohammed! You'll always be missed Chintu ji," the 33-year-old actor wrote.
Upon its release, "Mulk" earned acclaim for its progressive storytelling about religious intolerance in the country. The film also marked a career turnaround for Sinha, who was earlier known for big scale commercial movies "Ra.One", "Dus" and "Cash" as well as romantic drama "Tum Bin".
The filmmaker took to Instagram and shared behind the scenes stills from the film. "Three years back. This date. This film changed my life. #Mulk," Sinha wrote.
On Twitter, the director gave a shout out to the whole cast of "Mulk", including Manoj Pahwa, Prateik Babbar, Rajat Kapoor, Neena Gupta and Ashutosh Rana.
"On its third birthday my gratitude to the team. Chintu Ji I miss you. Taapsee. Manoj Pahwa. Kumud Mishra. NeenaJi. Prachee. Prateik. Rajat. Ashutosh. Ewan. Nikhil. Kaamod. Ballu. Mangesh. Anirudh. Deepika and BENARAS,"
The filmmaker's production house, Benaras Mediaworks, also took to Twitter, hailing the performances of Kapoor and Pannu in the movie. "Celebrating 3 years of #Mulk! Today as we celebrate 3 years of the film, here's an ode to our favourite Murad Ali Mohammed, #RishiKapoor ji! No one could have done justice to this film and aced the characters of Murad and Aarti the way @taapsee and Rishi ji did," the tweet read.