The
death
of
the
28-year
old
Australian
superstar
Heath
Ledger
has
had
severe
repercussions
on
the
entertainment
industry,
particularly
on
Shekhar
Kapoor
who
was
apparently
the
last
person
to
speak
to
Heath
before
the
actor's
tragically
premature
death.
"That's
what
I
gather.
I
believe
I'm
the
last
person
Heath
spoke
to
that
night
before
his
death.
And
the
press
in
New
York
got
to
know
of
this.
The
press
out
there
started
to
hound
me.
My
phone
wouldn't
stop
ringing
in
New
York.
I
had
to
cut
short
my
visit
and
return
to
Mumbai," said
Shekhar
on
Monday
morning,
hours
after
he
landed
up.
Remembering
his
short-lived
association
with
Heath
Ledger,
Shekhar
recalled,
"Heath
wasn't
just
the
star
of
my
film
Four
Feathers.
He
was
a
lot
more.
He
was
a
very
dear
friend.
We
connected
regularly
and
shared
our
problems.
In
fact,
on
the
evening
before
he
died
we
were
supposed
to
meet.
But
he
expressed
an
inability
to
meet
and
suggested
we
fix
up
another
time
the
next
morning.
But
in
the
morning
he
was
gone!
Such
is
life!" sighs
the
filmmaker
just
back
in
Mumbai
and
getting
ready
to
direct
his
new
film,
this
time
set
in
Shekhar's
favourite
city,
Mumbai.
The
futuristic
look
at
Mumbai
entitled
Paani
will
probably
be
the
most
expensive
film
Shekhar
will
produce.
"It'd
require
a
creation
of
a
whole
city
with
two
levels,
one
for
the
super-rich
and
the
other
for
the
underprivileged."
The
cast
is
now
being
seriously
looked
at.
Shekhar
is
most
probably
collaborating
with
UTV
for
this
venture.
His
other
sleeper
project
Time
Machine
will
now
be
directed
by
Rakeysh
Mehra.
The
buzz
is
that
Ranbir
Kapoor
will
be
playing
the
young
lead
that
was
once
offered
to
Aamir
Khan.
"Nothing
has
been
confirmed
yet.
I'll
let
you
know
as
soon
as
things
fall
into
place",
promises
Shekhar.
Story first published: Friday, February 1, 2008, 20:49 [IST]