Bollywood icons Shashi Kapoor and India's first female superstar Sridevi were remembered at the recently held 90th Academy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles. During the In Memoriam montage, the iconic Indian stars received a musical tribute by Eddie Vedder who took the stage to sing Tom Petty's "Room at the top". Actress Jennifer Garner introduced the segment by paying tribute to late star Audrey Hepburn.
"There is no joy without sorrow," Garner said, and then acknowledged the loss of film world with the departed souls.
Son of Prithviraj Kapoor and younger brother of Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor made his debut in Bollywood with the 1961 film "Dharmputra" after working as a child artist. He passed away in December 2017. Bollywood's ultimate "charm house" Shashi Kapoor then went on to make a name for himself globally by associating with international cinema. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan -- the third highest civilian honour -- by the Indian government in 2011.
In 2015, he was bestowed with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Sridevi, known for her ability to slip into myriad roles, expressive eyes, sheer comic timing and her fluid dancing skills, died on February 24. Her death left everyone shocked, and saddened. They were included in the annual montage along with stars such as John Heard, Tony Anne Walker, Jane Foray, Robert Osborne, Martin Landau, Glenne Headly, Roger Moore, George A. Romero and Jerry Lewis.
The 90th Academy Awards just concluded at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. It was heartening to see Sridevi and Shashi Kapoor in the memoriam montage played out during the ceremony. Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water won the coveted Best Picture award.
Christopher Nolan’s epic World War II film Dunkirk got eight nominations and seven for Martin McDonagh’s piercing black comedy, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Hindi film industry lost two shining stars Sridevi, on February 24, 2018 and Shashi Kapoor on December 4, 2017. The Academy honoured them in their ‘In Memoriam’ segment. Oscars honours cinema’s recently deceased celebrities by putting in a mention in the scroll. This year, the song for this segment was performed by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder - ‘I got a room at the top of the world tonight.' It payed homage to stars like Roger Moore, Jerry Lewis, Bollywood stars Sridevi and Shashi Kapoor.
With Jimmy Kimmel as a host, the ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre here on Sunday night.
(With IANS Inputs)
