NAME: Shashi Kapoor born as Balbir Prithviraj Kapoor;
DATE OF
BIRTH: 18
March 1938
PASSED
AWAY ON: 4
December 2017
PLACE OF
BIRTH: Calcutta,
Bengal Presidency (Present Day Kolkata)
DEATH
PLACE: Versova,
Mumbai
OCCUPATION:
Actor,
Director, Producer
LIFE
SUMMARY:
Shashi Kapoor was an Indian film
actor, producer and director. He was born as Balbir Prithviraj Kapoor and was
the third and youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor. He was the youngest brother of
Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor.
BIO:
His
Education:
Shashi Kapoor attended Don Bosco High School in Matunga, Mumbai.
He met his wife Jennifer Kendel in Calcutta (Now Kolkata) in the year 1956.
Both of them were working for their respective theatre groups during that time.
His Theatre Stint:
Shashi Kapoor was working as both the assistant stage manager as well
as an actor for his father’s theatre group named Prithvi Theatre. During this time,
Geoffrey Kendel’s Shakespearean group was also present in Calcutta and Jennifer
who later on became Shashi’s wife was Geoffrey’s daughter.
His Marriage:
Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer fell in love with each other after their
subsequent meetings. However, the couple faced initial opposition from the
Kendals but the support from Shashi’s sister-in-law Geeta Bali helped them
get married in July in the year 1958. Jennifer and Shashi acted in a number of
films together, mostly in Merchant Ivory productions. Jennifer and Shashi
established Prithvi theatre on 5th November in the year 1978 in
Mumbai.
The couple had three children named Kunal Kapoor who became an actor
but due to his accented Hindi could not succeed much. He is married to Ramesh
Sippy’s daughter. His second son is Karan Kapoor who is settled in London and a
successful photographer there. Shashi Kapoor’s third child is daughter Sanjana
who takes care of Prithvi Theatre.
Shashi Kapoor lost his wife to cancer in the year 1984 that shattered
him to the core.
His Career
as a Child Artist:
Shashi Kapoor
acted in plays directed and produced by his father Prithviraj Kapoor,
while traveling with Prithvi Theatres. He started acting in films as a
child in the late 1940s under the name of Shashiraj as there was another actor
by the same name who used to act in mythological films as a child artiste.
Some of his
renowned performances as child actor were as follows:
- Aag in the year 1948
- Awaara in the year 1951 where he
played the younger version of the characters played by his older
brother Raj Kapoor and
- Sangram in the year 1950 where he played the younger version
of Ashok Kumar.
His Hindi Film Career:
Kapoor made his
debut as a leading man in the year 1961 in the film Dharmputra. He later on went on to
appear in 116 Hindi films that included 61 films where he was the solo lead
hero and 55 multi star-cast films. He worked as a supporting actor in 21 films
and special appearance in 7 films.
He was a notable
and renowned actor in Bollywood during the 60s, 70s and until the
mid-80s era.
His stint
as a Producer:
In the year 1978,
Kapoor set up his production house, Film Valas, which produced critically
acclaimed films such as
·
Junoon (1978),
·
Kalyug (1981),
·
36 Chowringhee Lane (1981),
·
Vijeta (1982)
and
·
Utsav (1984)
In the year 1991,
he produced and directed a fantasy film titled Ajooba , which had Amitabh
Bachchan and nephew Rishi Kapoor in the lead.
His Later Career:
Kapoor accepted
very few roles as an actor in films since 1987. He acted with Pierce
Brosnan in The Deceivers
(1988). He also won a National (special jury) Award for his performance
in Muhafiz (In Custody) in
the year 1994 and played the Rajah in the TV adaptation of Gulliver's Travels in the year
1996.
His last and most
recent film appearances were in Jinnah in
the year 1998, which was a biographical film of Mohammed Ali
Jinnah in which he was the narrator. He worked in another Merchant
Ivory production titled Side
Streets in the year 1998.
Shashi Kapoor
retired from the film industry by late 1990s and had not appeared in any film
ever since.
He was seen at
the Shashi Kapoor Film Festival
that was sheld in Muscat, Oman in September in the year
2007. He also attended the 55th Annual Filmfare Awards, where he received
the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.
HIS DEATH:
On December 4,
2017 Shashi Kapoor was admitted at the Kokilaben Hospital, Versova, Mumbai
as he had chest infection. He passed away at the hospital at 5.20 pm due
to liver cirrhosis. He was 79 years old. Kapoor was suffering from Kidney
failure for many years and was on dialysis for years. The news of his death was
confirmed by his nephew Randhir Kapoor. Shashi Kapoor is survived by two sons
named Kunal and Karan, and a daughter, Sanjana. His daughter takes care of
the Prithvi Theatre.
His Awards
and Recognitions"
·
In the year 2011, Kapoor received Padma Bhushan by the Government of
India
·
In the year 2015 he received Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Winner
·
In the year 1994 he received National Film Award-Special Jury
Award/Special Mention Feature Film for Muhafiz (1993)
·
In the year 1986 he received National Film Award for Best Actor for New
Delhi Times
·
In the year 1979 he received National Film Award for Best Feature Film
in Hindi as a producer for Junoon
Filmfare Awards:
Winner: Kapoor
received Filmfare Award for the following roles:
·
In the year 2010 he received Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
·
He received Filmfare best movie award in the year 1982 for Kalyug and
1980 for Junoon
·
He got Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in the year 1976 for the
movie Deewar where he played the role of Ravi Verma
Nominated:
·
Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-Nominated
·
1983 for Namak Halaal where he played the character of Raja Singh
·
1977 for Kabhi Kabhi where he played the character of Vijay Khanna
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards:
He received BFJA Award for Best Actor for the following roles:
·
1988 for New Delhi Times where he played the role of Vikas Pande
·
1965 for Jab Jab Phool Khile where he played the role of Raja
Other awards
In the year 2011, Kapoor received Mohammed Rafi Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
·
In the year 2009 he received
Lifetime Achievement Award at 7th Pune International Film Festival
(PIFF)
·
He also received Lifetime Achievement Award at The 11th Mumbai Film
Festival in the same year i.e. in 2009
·
He was honoured by Walks of the Stars as his handprint was
preserved for posterity at Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai in November in the year
2013
Gallery:
