Shammi Kapoor Passes Away - DISCUSS HERE - Page 8

While it helps that he was blessed with naturally dashing looks, Shammi Kapoor's eye for style completed his heartthrob image to an extent unfair to other men. Speaking on his impeccable sense of style, fashion designer Manish Malhotra told Mumbai Mirror, "It didn't matter what he wore, his charisma and charm made anything look good on him.

He was one of the first actors from way back in the 60s who could pull off just about any crazy combination. The actors back in those days, including Shammiji, had good taste and an impeccable sense of style. Back in those days, none of the actors had stylists or designers like us to dress them up.

Shammiji was especially influenced by the west. I particularly remember the song from Janwar, where he wore a hoodie with overalls and made it look cool. I've been a big fan of the 60s and 70s, and it has greatly influenced my work as well.

About three or four years ago, I had the opportunity to make some clothes for him. I made a bandgala and a blazer among other things. In recent years, Shammiji's style became very ethnic. However, with his vivacious personality, anything he wore became a style statement. His passing is a great loss to the film and fashion industry."

I was close to Shammiji's brother Raj Kapoor saab. During some recordings I would sometimes run into Shammi Kapoor.

I soon realised that he has a great sense of music. Did you know that Shankar-Jaikishan, Raj Saab's regular music composers, were Shammji's music teachers? Shammiji learnt how to play the tabla from Shankar and the harmonium from Jaikishan. Jaikishan who was very close to me would often say, 'Shammi is not the way he appears.

He may seem like a kadak man, but he is very soft at heart.' This I personally discovered much later when he was unwell. That's when I really got to know him. I also got to know that Shammiji had good knowledge about classical music. Once my sister Usha and I were flying from Delhi to Mumbai, we were unaware that Shammiji has also boarded the same plane.

I suddenly heard someone from the back row singing one of my most intricate Marathi bhajans. I quickly turned around, and it was none other than Shammi Kapoor. 'Arrey Shammiji, aap? Itna achcha gaate hain, woh bhi Marathi mein?' I told him. We started chatting and he asked me why I didn't sing such songs in Hindi cinema.

Let me tell you something interesting about Shammiji's interest in music recordings. He would religiously attend the recordings of all his songs and instruct the composer where to put a dance piece. When he used to come for the recordings of his duets, I happened to be present there with Mohammad Rafi saab.

Shammi Kapoor loved to live. And lived to love. The man who had once wanted to marry his first girlfriend Nadia Gamal, a belly dancer he met in Ceylon also after the death of his first wife Geeta Bali, had fallen for his co-star Mumtaz.

The actress who starred with Kapoor in Brahmachari and later married industrialist Mayur Wadhwani recalls the times she spent with one of the most charming men in Bollywood.

Reminiscing the late actor, Mumtaz told Mumbai Mirror, "Aisa nahin tha. But yes, he wanted to marry me."

But she turned him down. "I was only 18-years-old when he told me that he wanted to settle down with me. I was getting several film offers and I didn't want to marry so early in my life," explained the actress.

And there wasn't any bitterness over the lost love either. "It was a very straightforward thing. He proposed and I politely said 'No'. That was it. I respected him a lot. We all will miss him," said Mumtaz.

"However, there was no other problem. Shammi was a very nice human being and a great actor," she added. And she even found him good looking. "There were only two good looking men in the industry in those days - Feroz Khan and Shammi Kapoor. Dharmendra also can be added to the list. But Shammi was breathtakingly handsome, no doubt about it. Aaj kal ke heroes itne achche nahin dikhte"

Aisa nahin tha. But yes, he wanted to marry me. Mumtaz

Remembering Shammi

Labeled the Elvis Presley of India, Shammi Kapoor grooved to the beats on his own and put orchestrated dance moves to shame. Interestingly, Shammi once judged a dance competition that ace choreographer Farah Khan participated in and won. Years after Shammi handed Farah her trophy, the actor spotted her at a function and approached the choreographer, asking: "Aren't you the same girl who I handed a trophy to for a dance contest many years ago?" The same Farah Khan tells Mumbai Mirror about her list of Shammi's ten best dance numbers.

O Haseena Zulfon Wali (Teesri Manzil) - I was only four then, when I first saw that film. That spoon-glass dance he did, I don't think any hero could ever do.

Govinda Aala Re (Bluff Master) - That was an iconic number. People were surprised to see him do Govinda inspired moves because up until then he was known only for his Western dance steps.

Chahe Mujhe Koi Junglee Kahe (Junglee) - That was a mad love song. I was shocked to see him jumping in the air and landing in the snow. There were no kneepads even then. Today's heroes complain of knee pain, if subjected to such dances.

Baar Baar dekho (China Town) - That song clearly defined him as the Elvis Presley of India. He became the first hero labeled as a sex symbol. Girls started going weak in their knees.

Badan Pe Sitare (Prince) - Oh, those cutting movements with hand. They became a rage soon after. And that lock of hair falling on his forehead. Who can surpass that?

Title Track, Evening In Paris - It was a very subtle dance, but oh so romantic! That's the beauty. You need to dance as per the mood of the song. He understood that the best.

Title track, Dil Deke Dekho - That was real fast. Supersonic speed if I may say so. And it was clear that he just didn't need a choreographer.

Dil Tera Diwana Hai Sanam (Dil Tera Diwana) - He got wet in water with Mala Sinha in that. Who didn't want to see him getting wet?

Stylish and suave, Shamsher Raj Kapoor was a ladies man. With his own brand of hillside romances, the man wooed his ladies in his unique way, albeit on screen. His leading ladies share their experiences of being romanced by one of the most charming men of Bollywood.

Being a non-conformist came easily to him: Sharmila Tagore

"He was my first co-star in Hindi cinema, in Kashmir Ki Kali and therefore special. But Shammi was special in his own right. And he remained special-vibrant, full of life and so young right till the end.

Shammi Kapoor was something else. He taught me a lot about lip-syncing for song sequences. I'd say he really enjoyed his illness. He was having the time of his life, till his very last day. His utterly-devoted wife Neela Devi would smile indulgently, even when Shammi would have a beer. I think it was Yash Chopra who played matchmaker between Shammi and his wife Neela Devi. Shammi's zest for life was infectious.

I remember we had gone recently to Pune to receive lifetime achievement awards together and Shammi was so much in his element. Though confined to a wheelchair, he insisted on driving himself to the venue. At the venue, he wouldn't let me occupy a seat in the back. He insisted on watching me give my speech. On another occasion recently, he called me up from the little town in Switzerland, where he had shot the Akele Akele song in An Evening In Paris.

He just remembered the time that we had shot together and called me to reminisce about those days. It's a gesture I won't forget. It brought back all the memories of shooting with Shammi, for my first Hindi film Kashmir Ki Kali and the cult hit An Evening In Paris. What songs these films had! He was so clued into the music.

His body had its own rhythm. And he followed his own rhythm till his last days. I remember him hanging out of a helicopter in a dressing-gown singing Deewane Ka Naam To Pucho and jumping into Dal Lake in Kashmir for another song. Only Shammi Kapoor could do such things. Being a non-conformist came easily to him.

He connected so well with the youth of today. Imran Khan told me he visited Shammi in hospital to get to know more about (filmmaker) Nasir Husain (Imran's grandfather) because Shammi and Nasir were very close from the time of Teesri Manzil. Shammi's zest for life reminded me of Dadamoni (Ashok Kumar). It's so sad to see such exuberant people go."

—Subhash K Jha

He was caring, protective and guardian like: Asha Parekh

"He was Shammi chacha and his wife was Neela chachi for me. It was her idea that I call them chacha and chachi. Now, when this shocking news comes, my heart reaches out to Neela chachi. Shammi hacha…what do I say? Memories flood back to my first film Dil Deke Dekho, where I was this gawky nervous tomboy. Shammi chacha taught me how to perform in the songs and how to lip-sync in the song sequences.

We later did Teesri Manzil together. Our two other films, Jawan Mohabbat and Pagla Kahin Ka, were average successes. When we were shooting for Teesri Manzil, we never thought it would become so popular with time.

We had so much of fun - me, Shammi chacha, producer Nasir Saab (Nasir Husain) and director Vijay Anand. Shammi chacha and I would look into the camera lens to check out all the pretty girls who passed by on location. In all these years, I've never seen him depressed, except when his first wife Geeta Bali passed away suddenly.

I remember the shooting of Teesri Manzil was called off and when we resumed we deliberately chose the sombre song Tumne Mujhe Dekha Hokar Meherbaan. I don't know about other heroines. With me he was caring, protective and guardian-like."

—Subhash K Jha

He just felt the songs, and moved to its beats: Saira Banu

He was a very well behaved and nice person. I feel sorry that we only did two or three films together. I learnt a lot from him as far as acting is concerned. I can never forget that in our first film together, Shammi requested music director Shankar Jaikishan to incorporate his song Terre Pyaari Pyaari Surat Ko Kisiki Nazar Na Lage. But since Shankar had composed the song for the film Sasural, it could not be used in Junglee.

The very fact that Shammi took so much interest in the way I was presented in my debut film was very touching. He would sit with the lyricists and music directors to get the feel of the song, before he could lip-sync the song on the set.

He never considered himself a dancer. He just felt the song and moved to its beats. He was impeccable and nobody can emulate him. Dilip and I were in frequent touch with him, not only through phone but we used to visit him too. He was the best human being. It is a great loss to our family.

—Vickey Lalwani

His energy level was much higher than mine: Hema Malini

"It was through Shammiji's wife Neela Devi's sister Sheila Devi, that we kept in touch. I was very close to Sheila Devi. Shammiji and I would often chat about her. Unfortunately, Sheila Devi is no more. Shammiji had become a spiritual person in his later years.

Alive. One word that best described the man who passed away at 5 am on Sunday at Breach Candy Hospital, where he was admitted a week ago for renal failure. Enjoying every bit of his life, even his illness, the second son of Prithviraj Kapoor never stopped living. And even in his death, the legend will surely live on.

The last rites will be held at 11 am on Monday at Banganga after his grandson Vishwapratapraj Kapoor comes back home from US.

Born in Bombay to a Pathan hailing from Peshawar, Shammi joined his father Prithvi Raj Kapoor on stage as a junior artiste in 1948 on a salary of Rs 50 per month. "I stayed with the theatre till 1952, my last paycheck being Rs 300," claimed the last Junglee of tinsel town.

He hit the big screen the very year he left theatre. Though his first success was still a far way off. Meanwhile, the man known for his charisma fell in love. It was for a film titled Rangeen Raaten by Kedar Sharma that he first came across Geeta Bali. Shooting in the vales of Ranikhet, he fell in love with his leading lady. The actors tied the knot in 1955.

Soon after came his first big success, Tumsa Nahin Dekha in 1957. And then there was no looking back.

Here was a man who was in love with life. With love. The death of his wife Geeta bali, left him shattered. He fell in love once again. This time with his co-star from the film Brahmachari, Mumtaz.

A 37-year-old Shammi's proposal for marriage to the 18-year-old actress on the verge of success in Bollywood was refused. He later married Neela Devi Gohil, from the royal family of Bhavnagar in Gujarat. The wife who stood by his side till he breathed his last.

Perhaps it was this capacity to love that made Shammi one of the most romantic heroes of his times. Creating his own special genre of hillside romances with films like Kashmir Ki Kali and Junglee, here was one actor whose sheer presence on screen brought the emotions alive. With songs like Ishaaron Ishaaron Mein Dil Lene Waale, one actually wanted to ask the man 'bataa yeh hunhar tune seekha kahaan se?'

Shammi was of course a natural. The man did not need to learn how to love. He did not need to learn how to dance either. Named the Elvis Presley of India, this man could jump in the air and land on snow without the need for kneepads in the Yahoo song, or jump into water for Yeh Chaand Sa Roshan Chehra in Kashmir Ki Kali. And he did not need a choreographer for either.

His zest for life translated into many forms. Here was one man who refused to be confined to his room even during his illness. His doors were always open for people who wanted to meet him. He would attend parties even if it meant going on a wheelchair. On his grandson, Ranbir Kapoor's insistence, he even signed his last film with Imtiaz Ali - the yet to be released Rockstar.

Shammi was ahead of his times. The oldest Indian actor on Twitter (his last tweet being: @priyankachopra look for a joint called RESSEE. Super dance of the fountains. 1961. Love), Shammi even started his family homepage and was known to be Internet savvy.

Almost everybody from the industry came to bid his or her final goodbye to the man synonymous with joie de vivre, at his Malabar Hills residence last evening. Shashi Kapoor was there to see off his brother. Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Karisma with husband Sanjay, Kareena with Saif Ali Khan and the rest of the Kapoor clan apart, there were the Bachchans. Rani Mukerji, Kajol, Aamir Khan with wife Kiran Rao and Imran with Avantikaa were also there.

And for a little while...ruk gayi yeh zameen, tham gaya aasman, as all of us remembered the legend Shamsher Raj Kapoor.

Remembering Shammi

Aditya Raj Kapoor, so

I wouldn't say I shared an uneasy relationship with my father. But when it comes to a man of Mr Shammi Kapoor's stature, no relationship can be simple. We shared an adventurous relationship .Yes, we were apart for some years, but lately we had become very close.

I was with him every single evening at the hospital, during his last few days. He lived life king-size. He was young and vibrant right to the end. I am proud to be his son. I wish we had spent more time together."

Aamir Khan, Actor