SHASHI KAPOOR THE LIVING LEGEND Lata Jagtiani

Shashi Kapoor…ah the whiff of Kashmir, the whiff of romance, the boyish grin on the handsome man, the man whose heart you never want to break because he is such a loving human being…that is Shashi Kapoor. Of the three Prithviraj Kapoor sons, Shashi was the least felicitated: unlike Raj, the larger-than-life showman brother, or the wilder than the wildest Shammi Kapoor, the Tumsa nahin Dekha man, Shashi had not one, but three tough acts to follow: his father and his two illustrious brothers. It was unphill for him. He was the best looker of the three, the most urbane and sophisticated, the most friendly and dashing, but he had to struggle to find his niche with the masses. He was never counted in the top league of Raj-Dev-Dilip, he was not in the second rung either where the trio of Rajendra-Dharmendra-Shammi were firmly lodged; he found his place somewhere a little below them with dashing men like Sanjay Khan and Feroz Khan, undoubtedly far above the fourth rung of Joy Mukherjee- Pradeep Kumar- Biswajeet. From time to time he experimented with his persona onscreen and succeeded in small measure, and yet never was it remarkable enough to give him that distinctive push into the upper bracket. Not that it bothered him, Shashi was Shashi because even if the critics spoke sparingly about him, his fans loved him and would go nowhere else. There was one place, however, where he clearly scored over both his more famous brothers: when it came to doing off-beat cinema, when it came to doing English films especially the Merchant Ivory films, he went ahead and did a brilliant job of it. Utsav, Siddhartha, Kalyug, etc, each one of them a role with a difference. In Hindi films, however, for the most part, he played the innocent and naïve good man who was often let down by the pedestrian values of people around him. His utter disgust and revulsion in Benazir for the home-breaker danseuse Meena Kumari who ironically loved him to distraction, his despair at city values in Jab Jab Phool Khile expressed so adequately in Yahaan Main Ajnabee Hoon; his straight cop with values act pitted against the loathsome corruption of a rich Amitabh in the Becket- inspired Deewaar, delivering his one unforgettable blow in the line, “Mere Pass Maa Hai!”; he is the rigidly puritanical Hindu conservative who mouths fanatical and chauvinistic ideas against liberal values in Dharmputra, the list is endless. He was the simple man who was always asking to get hurt. Can one feel his innocence as he serenades his beloved in Bhool Sakta hai Bhala Kaun.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDE2vaArWsY My own favourite Shashi Kapoor films were strangely enough, strange! I loved him for his poor boy role in Waqt, for his wonderful role in Kabhi Kabhi as the understanding husband…ah, this was one scene that Amitabh could not steal from Shashi, even with his powerful voice, Shashi stood taller in the scene, its worth a watch so here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsqJQoPar5c And then his beautifully under-played role as the proverbial Karan, skilled in corporate affairs in the film Kalyug….then his outstanding role as the crazed lover in Junoon, who has lost his head in love… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkWLTqrYuYA In Hesse’s story of Siddhartha, I would never have imagined casting Shashi Kapoor and Simi but the movie is fascinating with fair performances, just as interesting as Shashi Kapoor’s role in Shakespearewallah. A career that was interesting with its myriad opportunities, many of which worked well for Shashi Kapoor. On a personal note, for me Shashi Kapoor is the father of Sanjana who was junior to me at school. He would often come in his open sports car to pick his daughter up, no starry airs whatsoever, and of us school girls in uniforms were all in love with him, his grin was so utterly irresistible. I remember once when I was sitting at my usual place in the back bench of the bus, I turned around to look out of the back window and saw, surprise, surprise, Shashi Kapoor in the open sports car behind me, it was red if I am not mistaken…thrilled I waved to him, he raised one arm, waved from side to side and grinned back at me. I leave it to your imagination what my condition was after his grin! This was Shashi Kapoor, and he was truly special in a very different way from his brothers. Thank God for that. Because only Shashi Kapoor with his correct values could tell you to quit smoking, after all, he always stood up for the right, didn’t he? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFFw9XCM_RU&feature=related My song for Shashi comes from the film Pyaar Ka Mausam…thise Tum bin Jaaoon Kahaan version is sung by Rafi and represents the quintessential Shashi Kapoor: how perfect the words he utters: Dekho mujhe sar se kadam tak, sirf pyaar hoon main… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpbXDsoSSVI&feature=related