Shashi Kapoor

Shashi Kapoor (Hindi: शशि कपूर), born Balbir Raj Kapoor on March 18, 1938 in Calcutta, is a Indian film actor and producer and a member of the Kapoor family, an film dynasty in India's Bollywood cinema. He is the younger brother of Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor, the son of Prithviraj Kapoor, the widower of Jennifer Kendal, and the father of Karan Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor, and Sanjana Kapoor. He is remembered for many hit movies, including ones he starred in with Amitabh Bachchan, such as Deewar, Do Aur Do Paanch and Namak Halaal.

Career

Shashi Kapoor started acting in films as a child in the early 1940s appearing in several mythological films. His best known performances were in Aag (1948) and Awaara (1951) where he played the younger version of the characters played by his older brother Raj Kapoor.

He made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 Yash Chopra film Dharmputra and went on to appear in over 100 films. He was a very popular actor in Bollywood during the 1960s, 1970s and the early 1980s with his most famous movies include Waqt (1965), Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), Kanyadan (1968), Hasina Maan Jayegi (1968), Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973), Roti Kapda Aur Makan (1974), Chor Machaye Shor (1974), Deewaar (1975), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Fakira (1976) Trishul (1978), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Kaala Patthar (1979), Suhaag (1979), Shaan (1980), Kranti(1981) and Namak Halaal (1982). In most of his successful films in the 1970s and early 1980s he co-starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan.

He was also known internationally for starring in many British and American films notably the Merchant Ivory productions, Shakespeare Wallah (1965), Bombay Talkie (1970) and Heat and Dust (1982) in which he co-starred with his wife Jennifer Kendal. He also appeared in other British and American films such Pretty Polly (1967), Siddhartha (1972) and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987).

In 1980 he set up his production house, Film Valas, which produced critically acclaimed films such as Kalyug (1981), 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981) and Utsav (1984). In 1991 he produced and directed a fantasy film titled Ajooba which had his frequent co-star Amitabh Bachchan and nephew Rishi Kapoor in the lead.

His last and most recent film appearances were in Jinnah (1998), a biopic of Mohammed Ali Jinnah in which he was the narrator and another Merchant-Ivory production titled Side Streets (1998). He has now retired from the film industry and not appeared in any film since. He has been seen in the limelight at the "Shashi Kapoor Film Festival" held in Muscat, Oman (Sept 2007). He has lost a considerable amount of weight and looked healthy.

Personal life

Attended Don Bosco High School in Matunga, Bombay. In July, 1958, he married the British actress Jennifer Kendal and they acted in a number of films together, most notably in the Merchant Ivory productions. He had three children with Kendal; Karan Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor and Sanjana Kapoor all of whom for a short while became film actors. Kendal died of cancer in 1984.

His son Kunal is married to director Ramesh Sippy's daughter and Sanjana to wildlife conservationist Valmik Thapar.

with well wisher MGR and Janaki Ramachandran at Ramavaram Gardens, Chennai

Awards

1965 - BFJA Award Best Actor for Jab Jab Phool Khile [1]

1975 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Deewar

1986 - National Film Awards for Best Actor for New Delhi Times

1988 - BFJA Award Best Actor for New Delhi Times [2]

1994 - National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for Muhafiz (1993)

2009 - Lifetime Achievement Award at the 7th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) [3]

Selected Filmography

Actor

• 1Aag (1948) .... Young Kewal
• 2Awaara (1951) .... Young Raj (child artist)
• 3Dharamputra (1961) .... Dilip Rai
• 4The Householder (1963) .... Prem
• 5Waqt (1965) .... Vijay Kumar
• 6Shakespeare Wallah (1965) .... Sanju
• 7Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965) ... Rajkumar
• 8Aamne Samne...(1967)
• 9Pretty Polly (1967) .... Amaz
• 10Haseena Maan Jayegi (1968) ... Rakesh/Kamal (dual role)
• 11Pyaar Ka Mausam (1969) .... Sunder
• 12Bombay Talkie (1970) .... Vikram
• 13Sharmilee (1971) .... Ajit Kapoor
• 14Siddhartha (1972) .... Siddhartha
• 15Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973) .... Prem
• 16Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974) .... Mohan Babu
• 17Chor Machaye Shor (1974) .... Vijay Sharma
• 185 Rifles (1975) .... Dacoit Raka
• 19Deewaar (1975) .... Ravi Verma
• 20Kabhi Kabhie (1976) .... Vijay Khanna
• 21Immaan Dharam (1977) .... Mohan Kumar Saxena
• 22Trishul (1978) .... Shekhar Gupta
• 23Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) .... Ranjeev
• 24Junoon (1978) .... Javed Khan
• 25Suhaag (1979) .... Kishen Kapoor
• 26Kaala Patthar (1979) .... Ravi Malhotra
• 27Krodhi (1981) .....Sunny Gill from Vancouver
• 28Kalyug (1980) .... Karan Singh
• 29Do Aur Do Paanch (1980) .... Sunil/Laxshman
• 30Shaan (1980) .... Ravi Kumar
• 31Kranti (1981) .... Shakti
• 32Silsila (1981) .... Shekhar Malhotra
• 33Baseraa (1981) .... Balraj Kohli
• 34Vijeta (1982) .... Nihaal
• 35Namak Halaal (1982) .... Raja
• 36Sawaal (1982) .... Ravi
• 37Heat and Dust (1982) .... The Nawab (At the Palace in Khatm)
• 38New Delhi Times (1986) .... Vikas Pande
• 39Ek Main Aur Ek Tu" (1986)....
• 40Iłżaam (1986) .... Ranjit Singh
• 41Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) .... Rafi Rahman
• 42Pyaar Ki Jeet (1987) .... Dr Rehman
• 43Ijaazat (1987) .... Special Appearance
• 44The Deceivers (1988) .... Chandra Singh
• 45Akayla (1991) .... Police Commissioner
• 46In Custody (1993) .... Nur
• 47Gulliver's Travels (1996) .... Raja
• 48Jinnah (1998) .... Narrator
• 49Side Streets (1998) .... Vikram Raj
• 50Clerk (1999) .... Manoj Kumar

Producer

• Junoon (1978)
• Kalyug (1980)
• 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981)
• Vijeta (1982)
• Utsav (1984)
• Ajooba (1991)
• raman (1993)

Director

• Manoranjan (1974) (assistant director)
• Ajooba (1991)

Works

• Shashi Kapoor presents the Prithviwallahs, by Shashi Kapoor, Deepa Gahlot, Prithvi Theatre (Bombay, India). Roli Books, 2004. ISBN 8174363483.

Further reading

• The Kapoors: the first family of Indian cinema, by Madhu Jain. Penguin, Viking, 2005. ISBN 0670058378.

External links

• Shashi Kapoor at the Internet Movie Database

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References

• Image: http://movies.ndtv.com/images/PhotoGallery/foreignwomenbollywood/14.jpg