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SHASHI KAPOOR : GOOD ACTOR AND BETTER HUMAN BEING

by Yathavat Magazine Online Hindi Magazine

It is rare that one finds a good human being in film world that is dominated by treachery, deceit, sex and money. Shashi Kapoor stands apart from the crowd of self seekers in Mumbai. His life and his career is unblemished. There is a saying in Hindi- “kajal ki kothri mein rah kar bhi woh bedaag nikla”. I don’t remember any scandal attached to him. Film industry is known for its glamour and sex off screen. Private lives of actors and actresses are replete with scandals. 

 

Shashi Kapoor fell in love with British artiste Jeniffer Kendal at a tender age, when he was  just 19 year old  and married her at the age of 20 in 1958. He was a family man off screen. He was deeply attached to his wife Jeniffer. When she died in 1984, Shashi Kapoor’s health started falling. He lived as if he has lost interest in worldly things. He did try to promote his two sons Kunal and Karan but they failed to click. He also has a daughter Sanjana. 

 

Once a person is decorated with honours and awards, tendency is to go over board to eulogize the person and present him or her in all glories.  Shashi Kapoor is not a great actor. I rate him above average as a performing artist in films. But this does undermine his talent and career in films. He has done more than hundred films in career span of more than five decades and also directed few films.  He appeared as child actor in Raj Kapoor’s Awara in 1951 as ‘child Raj Kapoor’.  Of three sons of Prithviraj, Shashi Kapoor has most handsome when young.

 

In film industry it is commercial success that makes actors as stars. It was in 1965 when Shashi Kapoor gave a silver jubiliee hit film ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’ with Nanda as the leading lady of the film, he was flooded with offers by producers. In Jab Jab Phool Khile, Shashi plays the role of an ordinary ‘shikarawala’ in Srinagar where he serves Nanda, daughter of a rich man. She is modern and westernized. Shashi Kapoor is a simple Kashmiri. He is drawn to her and the girl too starts liking the shikarawala. She trains him to read, write and speak like educated men and makes him to dress like a ‘raees’ with suit tie and bow. Nanda takes him to the city. There is a sequence in the film where a big party is on. He sees Nanda dancing with other man holding hand throwing her arms around him. He is crestfallen. He expresses his emotions and feelings in song. ..” yehan main ajnabi hoon… main jo hoon bus wohi hoon…teri bahon mein dekhoon sanam gairon ki bahen…main launga kahan se bhala asi nigahen.. yeh koi rask hoga koi dastoor hoga, mujhe dastoor aaisa, kahan manzoor hoga…mera lahoo kahin na ho jaye paani… main kaise bhool jaun main hoon Hindustani…yehan main ajnabi hoon. 

 

Rendered by Md Rafi, the song is reflection of emotions. Shashi Kapoor’s  expressions while singing the song on the screen is simply fantastic.

 

There are many films that feature journalist as characters sometimes even in lead roles. Guru Dutt’s C.I.D. (1956) in which the story unfolds after the murder of a newspaper editor in Bombay for instance. 

 

Madhubala plays the role of a reporter in film Jaali Note opposite Dev Anand  who is a detective police officer (1960) and there was Page-3 showing the inside story of fashion and glamour page of newspapers, how journalists are influenced, how stories are planted. These are just few examples. But the best film ever produced on journalism is “New Delhi Times” in 1986. Shashi Kapoor is an honest and upright editor of a daily newspaper New Delhi Time published from Delhi. He discovers political assassination and starts running stories that threatens to expose corrupt politicians and some ministers in power. The conflict between free press and the corrupt systems leads to threatening calls and even attack on the editor’s house. The story of New Delhi Times was written by Gulzar (also a Dada Saheb Phalke award winner) and  directed by Romesh Sharma, the film also stars Sharmila Tagore, Om Puri and Kulbhushan Kharbanada. This writer met Romesh Sharma many times during the shooting of a documentary film on the plight of Dalits and landless labourers in Central Bihar in Patna. Romesh then narrated the story how the Censor Board people harassed him before clearing his film New Delhi Times. 

 

Romesh also confided in me how the then Information and Broadcasting Minister H.K.L. Bhagat in the Rajiv Gandhi Government put hurdles in the release of the film since it showed political corruption and political conspiracy including murder. Film distributors and Cinema Hall owners refused to screen the film fearing government’s ire. After long battle the film was released and it went on to win many awards including National Awards for best actor Shashi Kapoor and best cinematography – Subrata Mitra. 

 

Romesh Sharma also was given the Indira Gandhi award for best debutant director. The film also won Bengal Film Journalists’ Association award. It is a must see film for journalists.

 

It is difficult to discuss other films since there are many good films of Shashi Kapoor but another film that deserves mention is Kalyug directed by Shyam Benegal. Kalyug was released in 1981 and had a good run despite being a serious film without any item number and cheap thrills. The script of the film was rewritten with striking similarity of the epic Mahabharat. How families of cousins engage themselves into fierce war of intrigue and deceit to outdo one another in business. Shashi Kapoor plays the lead role in the film ably supported by Raj Babbar, Victor Banerjee and Rekha. The editing of the film was superb and so were the dialogues. Kalyug was adjudged best film for the Filmfare Aaward in 1982.

 

Although film critics mention Deevar as one of the top films of Shashi Kapoor with Amitabh Bachan in the lead, According to me, it was below average performance of the actor in Deevar. He is remembered in Deevar for his oft quoted dialogue when Amitabh as his elder brother in the film asks him, “Mere pas bungla hai, car hai, daulat hai, tumhare pas kya hai”. Shashi says, “mere pas maa hai’. He has done many films with Amitabh Bachan like Kala Pathar, Kabhie Kabhie, Namak Halal and Trishul. His performance was excellent as a husband of Rakhee. His pain is writ large on his face when he discovers that his wife was in love with Amitabh Bachan in college. Amitabh is a poet in the film. His book, a collection of poems is published. Shashi Kapoor on his first night with Rakhee presents the book titled abhie Kabhie ..Kabhie Kabhie mere dil mein khayal aata hai ke jaise tujhko banaya gaya hai mere liye.. he laughs it out while telling Rakhi what a fool he was to have presented this book to her. In Trishul too he performed well as step brother of Amitabh though Shashi Kapoor does not know that Amitabh was son of his father Sanjeev Kumar from his first wife.

 

Raj Kapoor cast him as lead actor in his film Satyam Shivam Sundaram opposite Zeenat Aman which was another commercial hit of the actor. Shashi Kapoor also acted in some English language films including Shakespeare Wallah produced by Ismail Merchant and directed by James Ivory but the film did not do well at the box office. He also produced films like Kalyug, Utsav and Ajjoba and was assistant director in half dozen films including Junoon and Post Box 999 – a great musical hit of 1`958.

 

Shashi Kapoor has been awarded the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for the year 2015 at the age of 77. 

 

Earlier, his father Prithviraj Kapoor and elder brother Raj Kapoor were given this prestigious award. Only 

 

Shami Kapoor was not given Phalke award though Shami in his own stride was a good actor with his inimitable style.

 

- MOHAN SAHAY (Yathaavat Magazine

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