From Sharmila Tagore and Asha Parekh to Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Mumtaz, Shabana Azmi and, of course, Raakhee Gulzar, with whom Shashi Kapoor did the maximum number of films, the death of the veteran actor has left his screen partners shattered.
Azmi, who was in Sydney when she received the news, names Kapoor among the biggest influences in her life, along with his wife Jennifer Kendal, filmmaker Shyam Benegal and her parents Kaifi and Shaukat Azmi. “He was the most handsome man I’ve ever come across,” said Azmi.
Gulzar wept as she recalled all the meals she cooked on outdoor locations with Kapoor during their spectacularly successful stints for Sharmilee, Kabhi Kabhie, Trishna and Jaanwar Aur Insaan.
Malini remembered Kapoor as a gentleman. “When he did Abhinetri with me, I was new and he was established. Still he didn’t mind doing a film that revolved around my character.”
Kapoor was cast in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand after Kishore Kumar said no. But when the reigning superstar Rajesh Khanna showed an interest in playing the lead role, Kapoor was shown the door.
Khanna and Kapoor didn’t work together for many years until Raj Khosla cast them together in Prem Kahani as the two men in Mumtaz’s life.
“I’d recommend Shashi ji for many films. But producers would refuse saying he was a flop actor. As blunt as that. Flop actor, they said. I was appalled by the crassness of it. But there was little I could do about it,” said Mumtaz.
In the 1970s, Kapoor came into his own with solo hits such as Chor Machaye Shor, Chori Mera Kaam and Fakira. But he chose to play the second lead in Amitabh Bachchan films. That finished off his career as a leading man in commercial films.
Tagore for some strange reason blanked out her stupendously successful pairing with Khanna and focused on her resoundingly flop combination with Kapoor.
“I really enjoyed working with Shashi. He had a wonderful sense of humour and he was an exceptional [screen] husband. We did many films together after our successful pairing in Waqt. I enjoyed Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Paap Aur Punya, Anari, and Suhana Safar. His work as an actor and then as a producer of important off-mainstream cinema makes him unique,” said Tagore.
“He was the first Indian actor to work abroad, and that too with an eminent director like James Ivory. Together, they did exemplary work. Shashi worked really hard to achieve what he did as an actor and producer. He was an exceptionally soft-spoken co-star and also a very considerate team player on the sets. He was very kind to all the technicians. He generated tremendous goodwill in cinema and theatre. He was an extraordinarily versatile artist,” she added.
Azmi, who did Fakira with Kapoor, said: “He has been a trailblazer in so many ways. He was the first Indian actor to work in Hollywood. He was the first mainstream actor who when he turned producer did so with artistic cinema like 36 Chowringhee Lane and Junoon.”
