Divya remembers Bhatti as being very correct in his behaviour. “He wanted to do everything the right way. He was a very intelligent and well-read person. And I had the pleasure of being at the receiving-end of his funny one-liners.”

Veteran actor Kader Khan who played Jaspal Bhatti’s best friend in the Rishi Kapoor directed ‘Aa Ab Laut Chalen’, recalls the ‘Ulta Pulta’ comic actor with warmth and affection.

“We played best friends in the film. He was a Sikh from India. I was a Pathan from Pakistan. Funnily my name was Sardar Khan and his name was Iqbal. We came together as characters representing Indo-Pak unity co-existing in New York.”

Kader Khan remembers how wary he was of Bhatti since he came from television. “I thought my friend would be played by Asrani or someone like him from our industry. When I saw it was Jaspal Bhatti I was initially disappointed. But my reservations melted by lunch time on the first day. Main unka ho gaya (I became close to him). In no time we were chatting and we got along like a house on fire. He was a soft spoken person. And he worked with great conviction. If I made a suggestion he immediately accepted it. Bahut lajaawab aadmi they. Mujhe to bahut shock lagaa. Ek aur saathi chala gaya. Kya Karen? This year we’ve suffered severe losses. Let’s hope there are no more losses this year.”

Fingers crossed.