Shashi Kapoor (English: Shashi Kapoor, born- March 18, 1938, Kolkata; died- December 4, 2017, Mumbai) was one of the famous actors of Hindi cinema. He is counted among those actors who entertained Hindi cinema lovers for almost four decades with his evergreen acting. Born in Kolkata, Shashi Kapoor’s real name was ‘Balbir Raj Kapoor’. He was inclined towards films since childhood and wanted to become an actor. His father Prithviraj Kapoor and brothers Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor were already well-known actors in the film industry and were at the heights of fame. If his father wanted, he could have made a film with him, but he believed that Shashi Kapoor should struggle on his own and become an actor through his own hard work. Shashi Kapoor completely lived up to this statement of his father.
Shashi Kapoor, the third son of actor Prithviraj Kapoor, did his schooling at ‘Don Bosco School’ in Mumbai. In school he wanted to work in drama, but never managed to get a role. At last his wish was fulfilled by Papaji’s Prithvi Theatre. Shashi Kapoor started working in films in the 40s. He played child artiste roles in many religious films. Father Prithviraj Kapoor used to encourage him to act on stage during school holidays. The result of this was that Shashi’s elder brother Raj Kapoor gave her roles in ‘Aag’ (1948 AD) and ‘Awara’ (1951 AD). He played Raj Kapoor’s childhood role in ‘Awara’.
During the days when Shashi Kapoor was working in ‘Prithvi Theatre’, Britain’s famous drama troupe ‘Sexthearena’ came on a tour to India. During this trip, when this theater troupe reached Mumbai, its director Mr. Kendall met Shashi Kapoor’s father. Both of them already knew each other. Prithviraj’s two sons Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor had nothing to do with theatre, because by then they had made their place in films. Shashi was still adopting the stage, because Mr. Kendall, besides being an excellent actor, was well aware of the intricacies of the stage. Therefore Papaji introduced his son Shashi to him and requested him to give his son a chance. Shashi Kapoor got a call from Sextheaterena. Now sometimes he would work in the plays of Prithvi Theatre, and sometimes he would apprentice under Mr. Kendall. Meanwhile, he met Kendall’s daughter Jennifer. It was learned that Jennifer is not only a talented actress, she also has a huge contribution in the running of the Shakespeare Theater. Shashi-Jennifer’s acquaintance gradually started turning into friendship.
During this time, Jennifer also learned Hindi. One day Shashi jokingly said, I am working in your father and his company, should you also work in my father’s theatre? Jennifer said, why not! I will definitely do it. After that, Jennifer was seen playing the role in Prithvi Theatre’s play ‘Pathan’. While on one hand Shashi was surprised, on the other hand he was also impressed by Jennifer’s talent and dedication.
Jennifer was older than Shashi Kapoor. The interesting thing was that this girl, who became a friend, girlfriend and then wife, was often playing the role of Shashi Kapoor’s mother in the drama very well. In fact, during their trip to Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong, both of them not only got a better opportunity to work on stage, but also got a lot of opportunities to travel. While Jennifer’s companionship made Indian Shashi Kapoor an English man, he also learned a lot from Shashi about Indian lifestyle and customs. Also learned to eat and make chapati instead of bread. When he returned to Mumbai, his relationship with Mr. Kendall’s daughter was finalized. Father Prithviraj Kapoor had no objection to this relationship. After all, she was his friend’s daughter. In 1958, Shashi Kapoor married Jennifer Kendall at the age of 20. The marriage ceremony took place at Prithviraj Kapoor’s ‘Matunga Flat’ in Mumbai.
Shashi Kapoor started his cine career as a hero in the year 1961 with Yash Chopra’s film ‘Dharma Putra’. After this, he also got a chance to work in Vimal Roy’s film ‘Prem Patra’, but unfortunately both these films proved unsuccessful. After this, Shashi Kapoor also worked in films like ‘Mehendi Lagi Mere Haath’ and ‘Holiday in Bombay’, but these films were also badly rejected at the ticket window.
The year 1965 proved to be an important year in Shashi Kapoor’s cinema career. This year his ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’ was released. The tremendous success of this film, adorned with excellent songs, music and acting, not only brought actress Nanda but also lyricist Anand Bakshi and music composers Kalyanji-Anandji to the heights of fame. The huge success of this film also established Shashi Kapoor as a star. Even today, the evergreen songs of this film mesmerize the audience. Under the music direction of Kalyanji and Anandji, songs like Anand Bakshi’s superhit song ‘Parseyon Se Na Akhiyaan Milana’, ‘Yeh Samaan Samaan Hai Yeh Pyar Ka’, ‘Ek Tha Gul Aur Ek Thi Bulbul’ became very popular among the listeners. These songs played an important role in making the film a superhit. In the nineties, on the lines of ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’, ‘Raja Hindustani’ was made with Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor. In the year 1965, another superhit film ‘Waqt’ of Shashi Kapoor’s cine career was released. Famous stars like Balraj Sahni, Rajkumar and Sunil Dutt were also with him in this film. Despite this, he was successful in attracting the attention of the audience with his acting. After the success of these films, Shashi Kapoor’s image became that of a romantic hero and producer-directors capitalized on his romantic image in most of the films. During the golden period of success between 1965 and 1976, most of the films in which Shashi Kapoor worked proved to be hits, but after the arrival of Amitabh Bachchan, the audience turned away from this actor who created the magic of romance on screen. And his films started failing.
In the eighties, Shashi Kapoor also entered the field of film production and made the film ‘Junoon’. After this he made films like ‘Kalyug’, ’36 Chowringhee Lane’, ‘Vijeta’, ‘Utsav’, and ‘Raman’. Although these films were not very successful at the box office, these films were well received by the critics. In the year 1991, he produced and directed his ambitious film ‘Ajooba’ with his friend Amitabh Bachchan. But due to weak script the film proved to be a failure. However, this film was quite popular among children.
In Shashi Kapoor’s cine career, his pairing with actress Sharmila Tagore was much liked. This pair was first seen in the film ‘Waqt’ released in 1965. Later, Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore also worked together in films like ‘Suhana Safar’, ‘My Love’, ‘Aa Gale Lag Jaa’, ‘Paap Aur Punya’ and ‘New Delhi Times’. Shashi Kapoor’s pairing with actress Nanda was also much liked. The pair was first seen together in the film ‘Chaar Deewari’ released in 1961. After this, both of them also worked together in ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’, ‘Mohabbat Isko Kehte Hai’, Neend Hamari Khwaab Tumhare’, ‘Juari Raja Saheb’ and ‘Rutha Na Karo’.[2] Amidst all this, Shashi Kapoor also made his pairing with superstar Amitabh Bachchan and was successful. The pair appeared together in the hit film ‘Deewar’. Even today, the audience has not been able to forget the conflict between two brothers in this film. Later the pair produced films like ‘Iman Dharam’, ‘Trishul’, ‘Shaan’, ‘Kabhi Kabhi’, ‘Roti Kapda Aur Makaan’, ‘Suhaag’, ‘Silsila’, ‘Namak Halal’, ‘Kaala Patthar’ and ‘Akela’. ‘ Also worked and entertained the audience.
Shashi Kapoor has worked in about 200 films. Some other films of his career are – ‘Pyaar Kiye Jaa’ (1966), ‘Haseena Maan Jayegi’ (1968), ‘Pyaar Ka Mausam’, ‘Kanyadan’ (1969), ‘Achinetri’ (1970), ‘Sharmili’ ( 1971), ‘Vachan’, ‘Chor Machaye Shor’ (1974), ‘Fakira’ (1978), ‘Heera Lal Panna Lal’ (1978), ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ (1979), ‘Bezubaan’, ‘Krodhi’, ‘Kranti’ (1981), ‘Ghungharu’ (1983), ‘Ghar Ek Mandir’ (1984), ‘Alag Alag’ (1985), ‘Ilaazam’ (1986), ‘Sindoor’ (1987) and ‘Farz Ki Jung’ (1989) etc.[2] Due to poor health in the nineties, Shashi Kapoor almost stopped working in films. The film ‘Jinnah’, released in 1998, was the last film of his cine career, in which he played the role of Sutradhar.
Shashi Kapoor has been honored with the Filmfare ‘Life Time Achievement Award’. Apart from this, Shashi Kapoor has been awarded the ‘Bombay Journalist Association Award’ for the Best Actor for the film ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’ released in 1965, and the ‘Bombay Journalist Association Award’ for the film released in 1984. ‘National Award’ for ‘New Delhi Times’ and ‘Bombay Film Journalist Association’ ‘National Award’ for Best Actor and ‘National Award’ for the film released in the year 1993. He also received the ‘Special Jury’ National Award for ‘Muhafiz’.
The Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan in 2011.
Shashi Kapoor died on 4 December 2017 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
