“I’m Shashi Kapoor” is how he would introduce himself even at the height of his popularity to any greenhorn journalist he would meet. All eyes would gravitate towards him whenever he sauntered into a room with that rakish smile and even those not familiar with all things Bollywood were floored in an instant by his genuine wit, charm and good looks.

Now, aged 77 and wheelchair-bound, Shashi’s eyes still haven’t lost the mischievous sparkle and that impish smile still plays upon his lips and the know-all look remains as well.

“When told about being conferred the highly prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his immense contribution to films, all he did was smile and nod,” his eldest son Kunal Kapoor told the media. After having watched Shashi Kapoor in numerous films, one can easily visualise him smiling and saying in that grand but not boastful, confident drawl, “Theek hai yaar, hum hai hi aisi cheez!”

“Shashi is a very handsome man,” reminisces veteran actor Prem Chopra who worked with him in around 16 films including Kranti, Trishul, Kala Patthar and others. In Kranti and a few other projects they were seen on opposite sides — as the good Shashi and the bad Prem Chorpa. Chopra adds, “He is a great prankster. The good thing about him is that though he would enjoy pulling your leg, he took it sportingly when someone played a prank on him. He is very jovial and though frail now and suffering from bad health, his fun-loving nature remains intact.”

Shashi Kapoor is a true Bollywood showman in every sense of the word

With the lineage that he comes from — the Kapoor khandan, the first family of Bollywood from the ’50s to the ’80s — it wasn’t easy for Shashi to get out of the shadow of his illustrious father Prithvi Raj Kapoor and two elder brothers — Raj and Shammi Kapoor. When he was barely 15, he did odd jobs in his father’s Prithvi Theatre for a princely salary of Rs75 a month till it closed down in 1960.

It was here that his love for theatre was nurtured and later he took great pains to revive Prithvi Theatre along with his wife, Jennifer Kendal, a British actor and daughter of Geoffrey Kendal of a travelling theatre group, Shakespeareana.

The association also led to Shashi working in several English films which gave him an angrezi chaap. Thanks to his daughter Sanjana and son Kunal, Prithvi Theatre has now become the focal point of all theatre activities in Mumbai with theatre groups from different parts of India and the world performing for it.

Shashi as a police officer is a guise he donned all too often in films

“Shashiji is perhaps the only one from the film fraternity who gave back to the industry unlike others who just profited from it. He made off-beat films, revived theatre and supported, nurtured theatre actors while silently standing behind us whenever we needed him. It’s very unlikely that anyone from the industry would have a bad word for him,” says actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda who has acted in several films with Kapoor, including the ones produced by the latter, namely Junoon, Utsav and Kalyug.

Shashi Kapoor was a victim of his good looks and sophistication which resulted in him getting only romantic or typical masala Bollywood films with songs, dances and fight scenes. He could never fit in the role of a desi rural boy though he tried his best. The closest he came to was the role of a shikara owner in the Kashmir-based film Jab Jab Phool Khilain.

With his classic good looks limiting the choice of screen roles, Shashi turned it to his advantage by producing films with off-beat story lines. In some he acted while others he financed. The films that he produced were all path-breaking — Junoon, Kalyug, 36 Chowrangee Lane, Utsav, Vijeta and Ajooba — and paved the way for him to various roles, the most famous being that of Vikas Pande, an honest journalist in New Delhi Times for which he won the National Award for best actor.

From the year 1947, he started essaying childhood roles for his brother Raj Kapoor. Later, he became the suave hero of nearly 175-odd films such as Hasseena Maan Jayegi, Jab Jab Phool Khilain, Pyar Ka Mausum, Ek Shreeman, Ek Shreemati; Sharmeeli, Abhinetri etc.

In his later years after having gained a few pounds

Samir Ganguli who directed him in films like Sharmeeli, Koi Jeeta Koi Haara and Deewanagi recalls,

“Shashi was one of the busiest actors in those days. In fact it was he who introduced the shift system. Absolutely punctual, at times because of his hectic schedules, he would get delayed but none of us would really mind because we knew that once he arrived on the sets, he would never hesitate to deliver what was required of him.”

The credit of introducing several trends in the Indian film industry goes to Shashi Kapoor, such as the maiden cross-over films thanks to his association with Merchant Ivory films (Householder, Shakespeare-Wallah, Bombay Talkie, Heat and Dust, In Custody and Conrad Rooks’ Siddharth with Simi Garewal and Hemant Kumar’s soulful songs in Bengali).

Merhant Ivory once commented that Shashi Kapoor could have been the Indian Cary Grant! His other Hollywood projects included The Deceivers, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid etc.

With his classic good looks limiting the choice of screen roles, Shashi turned it to his advantage by producing films with off-beat story lines. In some he acted while others he financed. The films that he produced were all path-breaking — Junoon, Kalyug, 36 Chowrangee Lane, Utsav, Vijeta and Ajooba — and paved the way for him to various roles, the most famous being that of Vikas Pande, an honest journalist in New Delhi Times for which he won the National Award in the best actor category.

Sharmila Tagore is all praise for her co-star of 11 films like Aa Galay Lag Ja, Suhana Safar, Waqt etc.

“He is a pioneer of sorts in our industry. He produced different kinds of films when people then were even scared of thinking differently. He didn’t hesitate to give a break to newcomers. Aparna Sen got her first break as a director with Shashi’s 36 Chowrangee Lane while Girish Karnad made a name for himself with Utsav. Besides all these, he’s the most reliable person who loves to have fun and makes sure everyone around him is happy and enjoys doing what they were doing.”

Continuing, Sharmila adds, “Even when he started acting in double hero roles along with Amitabh Bachchan, he held his forte.”

Shashi Kapoor as he is now at age 77

His pairing with Bachchan in a whopping 16 films like Silsila, Suhaag, Deewar, Namak Halal, Trishul, Shaan, Kaal Patthar, Kabhi Kabhi etc. became so popular that he acquired a moniker for the association: Bachchan’s favourite heroine. How can we ever forget the dialogue “Mere paas maa hai!” from the film Deewar. Shashi won the best supporting actor award for the film.

A man of varied talent and the darling of his co-stars, even Shabana Azmi has confessed to having had a secret fan crush on him and she would save her pocket money to watch his films. Shashi Kapoor is a true Bollywood showman in every sense of the word.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, April 5th, 2015

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