The tributes are pouring in on the demise of the much-loved Shashi Kapoor. President of India, Ram Nath Kovind tweeted, “Sorry to hear of the demise of Shashi Kapoor, well-known actor, with a repertoire of Indian and international films. His support for meaningful cinema as a producer and pivotal role in the theatre movement in India too are cherished,” while PM Narendra Modi shared, “Shashi Kapoor's versatility could be seen in his movies as well as in theatre, which he promoted with great passion. His brilliant acting will be remembered for generations to come. Saddened by his demise.”
Writer-lyricist, Javed Akhtar maintained, “Apart from being an incredible actor and person, Shashi Kapoor was also a terrific host and a thorough gentleman.”
Here’s reliving the qualities that made Shashi Kapoor the performer and the person he was…
Matinee idol good looks
It was difficult to get away from his gorgeous good looks. In fact, Amitabh Bachchan had mentioned once that Kapoor was so ‘beautiful’ that every woman who saw him on screen wanted to marry him! Incidentally, the easy going charm of Shashi Kapoor and the brooding intensity of Amitabh Bachchan formed a perfect foil to each other. The duo starred together in no less than 12 films!
Busy Bee
Shashi Kapoor was evidently the one who started the shift system where he would shoot two or three films a day. Constantly busy, he still refused to decline film offers. This meant that he would be continuously shuttling across the sets of those films for shooting. It was why elder brother Raj Kapoor allegedly nicknamed him ‘Taxi’!
Devoted Dad
Wife Jennifer Kendall insisted on him not working on Sundays, even as she tried to create a normal family household for the children. Incidentally, no matter how late Shashi returned from work, he would be up to have breakfast with the kids before they left for school.
An actor and a gentleman
Well-travelled and well-read, Kapoor was a thorough gentleman, unfailingly nice to the cast and the crew especially. He would walk up to ordinary people, introduce himself and sit and have chai with them.
Best Films
Despite being best known for his dialogue, “Mere paas maa hai,” from Deewaar, Shashi is known for an interesting body of work. Junoon saw him deliver an intensity-filled performance as an obsessed Indian nawab who desires to marry an Anglo-Indian girl against the backdrop of the 1857 War of Independence. His performance in Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug is often rated as his finest, as he portrays Karan Singh, a Rhodes scholar, who listens to classical music ad is not above sabotage and underhand tactics to decimate his rivals. New Delhi Times was another stunner, which saw Kapoor play an honest journalist who exposes the politics-media corruption nexus.
