A look at the Kapoor clan: Part 3 - Shammi and Shashi Raj Kapoor

Next in the line of Kapoor Khandaan are Shammi and Shashi! 'The Junglee Kapoor'Shamsherraj Kapoor, fondly called Shammi Kapoor, went on to be his on-screen name too. The fourth (second living) child of Prithviraj and Ramsarni Kapoor was born on 21st October 1931. He was the most pampered and protected amongst his other siblings. His parents lost two of their children Nandiraj Kapoor, and Deviraj Kapoor before his birth. He spent major part of his early childhood living and studying in Kolkata, where his father 'Prthviraj Kapoor' was busy with his theatre work. Later for his major schooling he was shifted back to Mumbai.To make a mark like his elder brother and father; Shammi Kapoor dropped out of Ruia College, Matunga, Mumbai to start his bollywood career. He started off at a very junior level artist in 1948; sans the professional shadow's of his famous father and brother earning Rs. 150/ a month. Mahesh Kaul gave this lad his first break in 'Jeevan Jyoti' starring as a lead opposite yesteryears actress Chand Usmani. At a very early stage of his career, he had an affair with a belly dancer from Cairo, Nadia Gamal. Things didn't worked out between the too and she left back for Cairo. Shammi Kapoor unlike other star's never shied away from admitting the facts relating to his personal and professional life. He also had a short-lived brief affair with actress Mumtaz. The famous song ' Yun to hamne lakh haseenayein dekhi, Tumsa nahi dekha' couldn't have seen the fire of its fame, if it would not have been for this debut actor who made a thunderous mark in the industry with 'Tumsa Nahi Dekha' opposite actress Amita. Next in line were a string of superhits, including 'Dil Deke Dekho', with Asha Parekh, Shammi Kapoor was best friends with Amitabh Bachchan. The actor had a sound ear for music. He composed a part of Amitabh Bachchan's famous song, 'Neela Aasman So Gya' from Silsila.This desi 'Elvis Presley' was most noted for his flamboyant stardom, and unique dances moves that no one could copy. His friendship with Shakti Samanta gave rise to some of the biggest hits of all time in Bollywood, 'An Evening in Paris', 'Pagal Kahin Ka', 'Kashmir Ki Kali', to name a few. With Shakti Samanta's death, Shammi Kapoor suffered a huge personal loss. Sticking to his chocolate-boy, loving image, the actor soon fell for his soon-to-be his wife actress Geeta Bali, while working on the sets of 'Rangeen Raatein'. Like every bollywood story, parents from both sides were not ready for this relationship. But the lovebirds soon got married in a temple and informed their respective parents only after their marriage. The couple was blessed with two children - Kanchan and Aditya Raj Kapoor. However, their marital bliss was short-lived, when Geeta Bali died after fighting a long battle with small pox leaving behind their two children and a their heart-broken father. With destiny knocking in favor of Shammi Kapoor, he soon got married to the daughter of former royal family belonging to Gujarat, Neela Devi Gohil. Their marriage stood rockstrong till his death.Being a true Punjabi, he admitted to be an ultimate foodie all his life. He was always seen gorging on Chholey Puri, which he admitted was his favourite dish amongst all. He was one of the most plump lead heroes of his time. Despite his constant weight gain, the list of his female fans continued to rise.Trivia:He was an absolute car-crazy person. He never hired a driver ever in his life. He loved to be behind the wheels and would often buy cars suiting his taste and persona. Amongst his possesions the only wish which remain unfulfilled was to own and drive his own Rolls-Royce. Till the time of death, he never left his passion for driving.Not many of his fans would be aware, but this 'Yahoo' actor and his brother Raj Kapoor acted as the disguised "Ustad"singers for songs "Chham chham baje re payelia", and "Laga chunri me daag" respectively. He is the only actor to have worked with maximum numbers of newbies like, Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Saira Bano etc. Shammi Kapoor was not only crazy about foods, and cars; but the man was a big-time net savvy. He was the first Bollywood star who started using Internet.Film 'Junglee' was debut for newcomer Saira Banu, who starred opposite shammi Kapoor. A decade later, in 'Zameer', Shammi Kapoor was seen playing the role of father to Saira Banu. Not only on-screen; the actor was widely known for setting the stage on fire whether, it was on-screen or any regular party. Right from the moment he used to enter till the time he left the party would be at its liveliest best. His movies, ''Kashmir Ki Kali', "Teesri Manzil", "Tumsa Nahi Dekha", etc are the most popular films internationally. His love for Kashmir, made him to shoot even a small bit of his every film in the valley.Shammi Kapoor died during the filming of 'Rockstar', 2011, starring his grandson Ranbir Kapoor. Shashi Kapoor'Mere Pass Maa Hai...' this iconic dialogue of Amitabh-Shashi starrer 'Deewar' is still so fresh in minds, and with this the evergreen character of Police Inspector Ravi Verma. Balbirraj Kapoor, whom the world knows as Shashi Kapoor was youngest scion of the 2nd generation of Kapoor Khandaan. Balbirraj Kapoor, son of Prithviraj Kapoor and wife Ramsarni Mehra, was born on March 18th, 1938, in Calcutta (know Kolkata). Born and brought up in the Kapoor khandaan, the actor had conventional acting running in his veins. His early life acting stint started with movies like Meena (1944), Tadbir, and Bachpan (1945). Shashi Kapoor's name was credited under the screen name of Shashiraj Kapoor. While growing up he dropped 'Raj' and kept only Shashi Kapoor.He rose to fame as a child star from films, Aag (1948) and Awaara (1951), where he portrayed a younger Raj Kapoor. Shashi Kapoor was very fond of his father Prithviraj Kapoor, and being the youngest his father too kept him close and would often take him to his rehearsals and tours of Prithvi Theatre. Because of this involvement since a very early age, Shashi Kapoor unlike his other brothers and sisters had great love and dedication for Prithviraj Theatre. His first grown professional work was that of and Assitant Director for Post Box 99, that was also marked as the debut movie for Sunil Dutt. Shashi Kapoor entered mainstream Bollywood as a leading actor in his movie Dharamputra, 1961. In his entire film career, he worked in around 116 films.During the tours with Prithvi Theatre, he was also greatly involved in theatre. He was also greatly involved in Merchant Ivory Productions. It was during his theatrical stint, that he met Jennifer Kendall, an English actress, who was also a theatre person. During their rehearsals together in Kolkata for their respective theatrical groups, Shashi Kapoor and Jeniffer came very close. Jennifer's father Geoffery was handling the Shakespearana group, and Jennifer, was also assisting her father. Initally like his elder brother Shammi Kapoor's case, Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer too had to face opposite from Jennifer's father. Geeta Bali played a major role in bringing both the families together. Shashi and Jennifer took over the charge of Prithvi Theatre after their father Prithviraj Kapoor's health started falling. The couple gave Prithvi Theatre a permanent home in Mumbai, on 5 November 1978. in Mumbai. The pair was the most noted and stylish couple of the bollywood industry. Jennifer and Shashi continued handling Prithvi Theatre and went on to work in numerous films together. The couple was blessed with two sons, Karan and Kunal Kapoor and daughter Sanjana Kapoor. Soon in 1984, Jennifer Kendal died of cancer, which shattered Shashi Kapoor to the core. During this time his daughter Sanjana Kapoor was a pillar of strength for him. Shashi Kapoor's children too tried their hand in Indian Cinema, but could not see the fir of fame owing to their accented Hindi, and Caucasian looks.Shashi Kapoor is the last living heir of the second generation in the Kapoor khandaan. Trivia:Shashi Kapoor is amongst those few actors of have worked with almost every actress in the industry.Bimal Roy and Shashi Kapoor worked together in Prem Patra, 1962, which was also their last film together. During the premiere of this film, Bimal Roy's Rinki came down to impress Shashi Kapoor and for this she did a hairdo only to impress him. It is said she had never ever done a hairdo all her life. Shashi Kapoor was nicknamed 'Taxi', by his elder brother Raj Kapoor, because Shashi Kapoor during 70's, signed almost every film that came across him or was offered to him and for this he had to shuttle from one set to another. Shashi Kapoor's inclination towards conventional cinema hence he choose films like, Vijeta, Junoon, Kalyug, and Utsav.Actress Nanda openly admitted that Shashi Kapoor was his favourite and she would love to share more time and frames with him. For the role in Shakespearana, he had to learn two languages, King's English and Queen's English. The childlike and innocence look of his face made him the most note chocolate boy-faced. His portrayal of a Kashmiri youth in "Jab Jab Phool Khile" garnered him immense female fans and garnered great attention globally. Despite being elder than Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor would always play the role of younger brother because of his cute and childish looks. They were considered the best pair Brother-pair in the Industry. Together they went on to give some cult classic hits to the Indian cinema, like Deewar. The scene where Shashi and Amitabh are standing under a 'pull' and fighting over their mothers attention in movie 'Deewaar' is an iconic scene. Admitting himself, Shashi Kapoor said, "If I was ever serious about my role and acting that was in "The New Delhi Times"," where he played role of an intense and tormented journalist.