Rishi Kapoor's legacy never came in between of making 'The Body': Jeethu Joseph

Filmmaker Jeethu Joseph, who is making his Bollywood debut with "The Body" featuring Rishi Kapoor and Emraan Hashmi, says the veteran actor's legacy never came in the way of making the thriller.

Jeethu has helmed several critically acclaimed Malayalam films, including "Memories" and "Drishyam", which was remade across five languages, including Hindi.

"Rishi sir's legacy never came in between of making the film. But his experience helped a lot. To work with him is a blessing. In the beginning, I was slightly afraid because I was working with a legend. But he was cool and cooperative," Jeethu told PTI.

The director said Kapoor, 67, is a lot like Malayalam superstar Mohanlal when it comes to following a director's vision.

"He is a director's actor. I felt like I'm working with Mohanalal. He's also a director's actor. Rishi sir usually doesn't work after 8 or 9 PM, but most of the scenes were at night, so there were days he stayed till 1 AM and told me he's doing it only for me. It was a great experience," he added.

Though "The Body" marks Kapoor's first collaboration with the filmmaker, the actor was on Jeethu's mind even when the idea of the Hindi remake of "Drishyam" was taking shape.

"In the beginning stages of making the Hindi version of 'Drishyam', I suggested Rishi sir's name because I thought this character perfectly suits him, age wise and other factors. I believed he can do justice to that character.

"But in films, we have to consider other factors such as the economics behind it. The producers considered that factor and went to Ajay Devgn who also did a great job."
Jeethu says managing two big releases at the same time was "stressful."