SHAMMI KAPOOR PASSES AWAY

August 15th, 2011 by Ravi Matah | Posted in News   Comments Off on SHAMMI KAPOOR PASSES AWAY
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The dancing star of the 1950s and the 60s, the inimitable Shammi Kapoor, is no more. Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor breathed his last at 5:50 am Sunday morning in Mumbai. He was 79 years old. Shammi had been hospitalised for the past one month and was undergoing dialysis thrice a week and he ultimately succumbed to renal failure. He was born on 21st. October 1931.

Shammi Kapoor

Shammi Kapoor

Bollywood’s legendary actor passed away at the Breach Candy Hospital at 5.50 a.m. He had been suffering from chronic renal failure. 

The funeral for the Bollywood legend will be held today, August 15th. at 11 am at Ban Ganga crematorium, Mumbai. Shammi Kapoor’s son stated that they were awaiting the arrival of the icon’s grand-son Vishwapratap Raj Kapoor. 

Twitter  was the first to catch the sad news and  has again emerged as the fastest media.

Amitabh Bachchan was one of the first among all the Bollywood celebs to tweet about Shammi Kapoor’s death. He tweeted, “@SrBachann – Shammi Kapoor ji passed away this morning at 5:15 am .. Rushing there now .. the flamboyance and joi de verve of the Industry lost !” 

 This news caught the attention of @ikaveri, another tweeple, who tweeted – [@ikaveri – Shammi Kapoor is no more – #RIPShammiKapoor.], and then it spread like wild fire. 

Immediately the world new about it and it became a world-wide ‘trending topic’ on @twitter. Shammi Kapoor himself was very popular on twitter and used to tweet under the name/handle @shamsheraj. 

He was given the name Shamsher Raj Kapoor at his birth in Mumbai to film and theatre actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Shammi was the second of the three sons born to Prithviraj, the other two being Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, both of whom were successful Bollywood actors. He spent a major portion of his childhood in Kolkata, where his father was involved with New Theatres Studios, acting in films.

 It was in Kolkata only that he did his Montessory and Kindergarten. After coming back to Mumbai, he first went toSt. Joseph’s Convent (Wadala) and then, toDonBoscoSchool. Shammi Kapoor finished his schooling fromNewEraSchool, atHughes Road. 

Shammi Kapoor had a short stint at the Ruia College, after which he joined his father’s theatrical company “Prithvi Theatres”. He entered the world of cinema in 1948, as a junior artiste, at a salary of Rs. 50 per month. Kapoor stayed with Prithvi Theatres for the next four years and collected his last paycheck, Rs. 300, in 1952. He made his debut in Bollywood in the year 1953, when the film Jeevan Jyoti was released. It was directed by Mr. Mahesh Kaul and Chand Usmani was Kapoor’s first heroine. 

Shammi Kapoor was one of the most versatile actors of Hindi cinema and will be fondly remembered for his brilliant work in movies like ‘An Evening in Paris’, ‘Junglee’, ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’, ‘Teesri Manzil’ and many more. 

Even before the birth of internet, ‘Yahoo’ was the word shouted on the streets of India after the release of his movie ‘Junglee’ in the early ‘60s. 

Immediately after his death, actors Amitabh Bachan, Imran Khan, Anupam Kher, Farah Khan and industrialist Anil Ambani reached his residence, Blue Haven Society in Malabar Hill South Bombay, to pay their respects to the departed soul. 

Shammi Kapoor has always been active and has a final performance yet – in grand-nephew Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar. 

The legendary actor was due to jam with Ranbir Kapoor in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar. Latest reports say Ranbir was obviously excited and had been rehearsing. In my younger days, I used to play the shehnai or would enact it to perfection. I think I can do it today, also,” Shammi Kapoor had said, of the scene in which he was to play the shehnai and Ranbir the guitar. 

Many Bollywood stars and filmmakers have expressed their profound grief on the demise of the veteran actor. Twitter was abug with tweets from many Bollywood celebs who said :-

Shabana Azmi – “Shammiji u will b remembered always. Thanku for d grt joy n entertainment u gave millions.seems like a grammatical error 2use past tense 4 u (sic).” 

Anupam Kher– “Shammi Kapoor ji was one of d 1st Youth Icons from Cinema. He liberated actors from being stereo types. Will miss his STYLE and SUBSTANCE (sic).” 

Priyanka Chopra– “sometimes no amount of kind words can compensate for a loss! bhole baba ki jai shammi maharajji.. he was our guruji..im at a loss (sic).” 

Deepika Padukone– “He was an inspiration not just for his style and the films he did, but also his attitude towards life…we will miss you Shammi uncle…#RIP.” 

Shekhar Kapoor– “The great iconic Shammi Kapoor who defined an era n influenced music, dance n song even today has passed away, leaving a hollow void (sic).” 

Karan Johar– “One of finest and strongest men I knew…we will truly miss you shammi uncle….RIP….” 

R Madhavan– “RIP Shammi Ji.  End of a legend” 

Celina Jaitley– “Shammi ji no one can take the place of all the “Yahoos” of our indian hearts who loved u .. u will be missed deeply by us all.” 

Dia Mirza – “The happiest, caring, kind and considerate man…You leave with us memories that are precious…@shamsheraj RIP Shammi Kapoor love u forever (sic).” 

Shamsher Raj Kapoor, widely known by his screen name Shammi Kapoor, was a flamboyant dancing star and it was in 1955 that he met Geeta Bali on the sets of ‘Rangeeen Rateen’ and later married her. They had a son Aditya and a daughter named Kanchan. 

While working on the sets of ‘Teesri Manzil’ he lost his wife who died of small pox in 1965. That was a very bad patch in his life and it took him 3 months to recompose himself and started working again on the sets, never giving away a glimpse of his hurted feelings. 

Awards won By Shammi Kapoor: 

* 1962 – Filmfare Nomination as Best Actor–Professor

* 1968 – Filmfare Best Actor Award, Brahmachari 

* 1982 – Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, Vidhata

* 1995 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award 

* 1998 – Kalakar Awards – Special Award for “contribution in Indian Cinema” 

* 1999 – Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement 

* 2001 – Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award 

* 2001 – Anandalok Awards Lifetime Achievement Award 

* 2002 – Invaluable Contribution To Indian Cinema at the IIFA. 

* 2005 – Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bollywood Movie Awards 

* 2008 – Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian cinema at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF). 

* 2009 – Phalke Legend Actor Award by theDadasahebPhalkeAcademy 

* Recipient of the prestigious Living Legend Award by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Indian entertainment industry. 

* Rashtriya Gaurav Award 

A tribute to Shammi Kapoor is incomplete if I don’t mention here that the songs of his movies became so popular that they were enjoyed and sung by one and all throughout the length and breadth of this country. Shammi Kapoor had a glorious association with Mohd. Rafi ji who sang his songs to perfection and ensured that the voice also matched the star’s dance moves on the screen. Though all his songs became very popular but today I would like to quote here – ‘Tum mujhe yoon bhulaa na paaoge’.

Very true Sir Shammiji, it is very difficult to forget you. 

And to sum it up in the end – ‘taareef karoon kya uski, jisne tujhe banaaya’ – RIP – Shammi Kapoor.

 

Ravi Matah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  1. Ranjana Mishra Says:

    This is a great tribute to one of the greatest actors of all time……..RIP Shammi Ji..

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