Shashi Kapoor

The latest on once busy and happening Shashi Kapoor is that he has been asked to head the jury for the National Awards but he has declined, preferring the life of anonymity amidst the children (Sanjana Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor and Karan Kapoor) who failed to make a place for themselves in Bollywood but are successful in related fields like theatre, photography and advertising.

Born in Calcutta on January 15, 1938, Shashi, the third son of Prithviraj Kapoor, made his first screen appearance aged 14 in his elder brother Raj Kapoor's 'Awara'. He played the child Raj Kapoor. As a child star, he even acted in forgettable mythologicals like 'Bhakta Dhurva' (1947) and 'Murliwala' (1951).

He also made a two-reeler called 'Phansi' using a 16 mm movie camera Raj had given him.But if Raj expected him to become a film maker, he was disappointed. Shashi became an actor. Beginning with 'Char Diwari' (1961), he acted in many films. Most of the films were forgettable and his performances mediocre.

Possibly because he had married an English theatre actress Jennifer Kendall, he had an attitude problem, and often lambasted Hindi films. That he failed to click only added to his cynicism. At 27, he made his first hit, in 'Jab Jab Phool Khile'. Some of his films in this period include 'Haseena Maan Jayegi', 'Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath', 'Waqt', 'Aa Gale Lag Ja', 'Pyar Ka Mausam' and 'Chor Machaye Shor'. The Anglicised actor found an outlet in such Indo-English films as Merchant-Ivory's 'Householder' and 'Heat & Dust', Conrad Rooks? 'Siddhartha'.He built a memorial to his father the Prithvi Theatre and encouraged talented film makers like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani and Girish Karnad to make quality films, which he produced: 'Junoon', 'Kalyug', '36 Chowringhee Lane', 'Vijeta' and 'Utsav' , all critically acclaimed though not so successful at the box office.

To finance his theatre and quality films, Shashi signed every masala film which came his way. There was a time when he would shoot for six films on the same day, giving two hours to each. Seeing this, his elder brother Raj Kapoor, who had signed him for 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram', angrily called him a 'taxi'. His more successful phase as an actor, was as a co-star with Amitabh Bachchan ('Deewar', 'Do Aur Do Paanch', 'Silsila', 'Trishul', 'Kabhi Kabhi'), though he could hardly outshine the megastar. Nevertheless, he won the National Award for his performance in 'New Delhi Times'.

He was the only actor in his family who kept his weight in check, thanks to his wife Jennifer. But after her demise, Shashi lost interest and let go. The new, bloated Shashi Kapoor even tried his hand at directing. 'Ajooba', an Indo-Soviet production. But it was a total wash-out. It was neither praised by the critics nor liked by the paying public liked it.Recently, he acted as a frustrated poet in 'In Custody' - a character so like what he has become.

Balbirraj Kapoor - features biography, family, and Prithvi theatre.

IMDb: Shashi Kapoor

Songs of Shashi Kapoor - lyrics of songs from Hindi films.

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