Something about him conveyed class and goodness, and he was the kind of man that a girl could introduce her dad to and he wouldn’t object to your seeing him. His handsome face had “decency” written all over it… He was and remains my favourite Kapoor. I never liked Raj Kapoor much for some reason, found Shammi Kapoor interesting but Shashi Kapoor was something else. Today as he has passed on, I was remembering some of his memorable movies and yes Sharmilee was the first one that came to my mind. That song where he meets Kamini (gorgeous Rakhee) the evil twin, “Khilte hain gul yahan” shows him off just perfectly. You are struggling between two gorgeous people – who do you look at ? See this pic from that song, gorgeous, right?
Shashi Kapoor was also the only Kapoor before Kareena, Karishma and Ranbeer Kapoor to stay in shape for a long time …. and he attributed that to his late wife Jennifer. As soon as she passed away, he too went the way the other Kapoors have. More recently, it was a shock to see him in a wheel chair and I wish they remove those pics from everywhere. He cannot be remembered that way. He has to be remembered the way he looks in this picture above.
The closest I came to meeting him was when he came to AFA, Dindigul for the shooting of his son Kunal Kapoor’s movie “Vijeta” just before dad got posted there. So I missed meeting him and now can never meet him.
What a wonderful life … doing what he loved to do, having a lovely family, staying in love with Jennifer, being in the limelight for his craft, not involved in any juicy scandals, being a star who still remained accessible… just a well lived life.
Today’s moon (“Shashi” in Sanskrit) has a new dimple…. and you can almost see him smile again.
RIP Shashi Kapoor.
His charming smile that stole hearts … his dialogue “ mere pass maa hai “ will always keep him alive. May his soul Rest in peace.