Prince Charming

Going by his seemingly European good looks and cultured disposition, anyone could mistake him for the guy who rescues damsels for a living. Fact is many a woman around the world yearned to be Shashi Kapoor’s true love. But dreams of his magical kiss were limited to wife Jennifer Kendal. That didn’t blunt his allure though. Shashi was the best-looking man in the country and he had women swooning over him and young lads trying to replicate his perfect matinee idol charm.

That’s not all. Critics were smitten with his acting abilities as much as the lusting women. After all he had the royal blood of Prithviraj Kapoor. And yet, Shashi seemed more than happy reveling in the praise for his work as he spent time at home with wife and kids. His performances in commercial films may not have added much ethos to his acting career but his associations with Merchant Ivory Productions, Govind Nihalani and Shyam Benegal more than made up for it. It was about balancing art with commerce. So here he was the perfect specimen of a man, perhaps pulled out of a fantasy tale and dropped into the world of films.

Dharmputra (1961)
Everyone knew he was the baby brother of Raj and Shammi Kapoor. Shashi played minor roles in Raj’s films like Aag, Awaara and Shri 420. Moving on to the big league and lead roles was a natural progression. So Shashi made his big debut with Dharmputra, sporting a pencil moustache, well combed hair and resembling his elder brothers. Right from the first film, Shashi exuded a boyish charm that enamoured. He played a bigot in the film, a young lad suffering from communal angst and hatred and yet he left an indelible romantic impression on the audience.

Waqt (1965)
Back in 1965 who could say no to a colour film directed by Yash Chopra with an unprecedented star cast? There were Balraj Sahni, Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Sadhana, Sharmila Tagore and Leela Chitnis apart from Shashi. The key here was each character had an individual role to play in reaching the climax. And Shashi’s had the maximum conflict as he was the youngest of the brothers, separated and brought up in penury.

Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965)
A romantic tale set in Kashmir with the lead actors being two of the prettiest people in the country. Jab Jab Phool Khile was a story of young romance between Shashi Kapoor and Nanda. Invariably it had a happy ending against all odds. This might seem like classic commercial premise but Shashi wasn’t relying just on the beautiful locales. It’s believed Shashi employed some method acting for his role as Raja. He spent days with boatmen in Kashmir studying their lifestyle. The result, he looked every inch the humble man he was supposed to be.

Haseena Maan Jayegi (1968)
Double roles were gaining popularity in the ’60s and Shashi Kapoor joined the bandwagon with Haseena Maan Jayegi. He played Kamal (sincere) and Rakesh (a rake) both army officers in love with the same woman Archana (Babita). In an altercation during war, Kamal kills Rakesh and flees home. The army thinks Kamal’s dead and informs his wife about it.
Shashi was limited in his portrayal of the two contrasting characters. But sadly both seemed almost the same. Nonetheless the film worked and the rest is history.

Pyar Ka Mausam (1969)
Nasir Hussain’s Pyar Ka Mausam is remembered for its ageless romantic music and picturesque locales. Also important in the film was Shashi Kapoor’s edgy performance. He played a man constantly changing aliases to survive and get work. Obviously his charm was too much to resist for Asha Parekh and the audience alike. And apart from all that conning and romance, the film also had the lost and found theme where Shashi and his parents reunite thanks to continuous humming of the subliminal Tum bin jaaon kahan.

Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973)
Fans remember Aa Gale Lag Jaa for Mera tujhse hai song one that’s now hummed as Jaane tu... ya jaane na. Fact is this film was much more. It had a progressive story about pre-marital pregnancy, complicated relationships and reconciliation. There was much melodrama holding it all together but the movie had its moments like Shashi portraying a single dad, an aspect unheard of for heroes back then.

Sharmilee (1971)
With films like Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati and Suhana Safar Shashi had established a firm hold in the romantic hero segment. Sharmilee was a love story with a twist. There was a double role for the heroine (Raakhee) and the handsome hunk (Shashi) was to be torn between the two sisters thanks to mistaken identities. Shashi played an army captain, a cultured man who didn’t mind wearing his emotions on his sleeve. He fell in love with the lively sister but was forced to marry the dull and boring one. His character went from in love to despair to sheer anger.

Chor Machaye Shor (1974)
Shashi was being cast in films like Roti Kapada Aur Makaan because he was a bankable box office star. In Chor Machaye Shor, Shashi played an engineer whose romantic advances are nixed by the heroine’s devious father. Shashi is framed and he ends up in jail. He manages to be friends with other well-intentioned inmates and together they escape and set out to put things right. Shashi indulged in a lot of jumping around, lot of action and lots of drama too.

Fakira (1976)
If you’ve ever enjoyed the slightly footloose James Bond movies of the ’70s you’re sure to have a trip watching Fakira. This is as masala as commercial can be. Fakira had a lost and found theme where two brothers were separated by the evil deeds of the villain and they later joined forces to defeat the bad guys. Shashi played quite the suave gangster who had a world class don’s den, party life and chick magnetism. There were bed breaking love making scenes, jumping motorcycles and a whole host of potboiler madness that Shashi had the pleasure of going through.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978)
Shashi had a bevy of commercial films and hits. But his effort to be part of meaningful cinema carried on with films like Mukti and Doosra Aadmi. It was his pursuit of art and Raj Kapoor’s resolve to create drama that made Satyam Shivam Sundaram possible. The film is remembered for Zeenat Aman’s ergonomic and untamed beauty. The film highlighted a man’s obsession with physical beauty and it was portrayed through the negative shades of the protagonist played by Shashi.  
For those who could take their eyes off Zeenat, Shashi provided some stimulation for the grey cells too.

Deewaar (1975)
There’s a list of films in the article that mentions films Shashi did with Amitabh Bachchan. Deewaar has been omitted from that list is because he had “Maa” by his side. We’ll always remember Deewaar for Shashi’s dialogue. He was the hero of the film and the fact is, he stole the show with some masterful underplay. Amitabh’s domineering intensity was balanced by Shashi’s composure. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for it too.

Kalyug (1981)
From 1978 to 1981, in three years, Shashi featured in some big ticket commercial capers that were more than successful. Shashi’s screen presence meant he could walk through these films with relative ease. The challenge then was brought forth by Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug.
The film’s narrative was modeled on the Mahabharata and Shashi’s role was an ode to Karan. Like in the original, his character was the catalyst for the narrative. With names like Victor Bannerjee, Raj Babbar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Anant Nag making up the principal cast, it was up to Shashi to up the glamour and make Kalyug more than just art house drama.

Baseraa (1981)
Baseraa was a film about two ladies and naturally the actors who portrayed them (Rekha and Raakhee) stole the show. In the middle was Shashi Kapoor playing the helpless and yet resolute husband. So while Rekha juggled with emotions of compromise and suffering and Raakhee portrayed innocent madness, Shashi held it all together. He had no choice but to play second fiddle. But in the few scenes that Shashi had to himself he really held his own.

Utsav (1984)
At 46, it was obvious Shashi couldn’t be the lead of the film. So for the ambitious film that he was producing Shashi played a supporting but pivotal role. Nine out of 10 people who’ve watched Utsav remember it for Rekha and Shekhar Suman and not for Shashi because he hardly looked like his usual dapper self. He put on tons of weight, wore a ghastly wig, had a monstrous moustache as he played the evil Samsthanak. It’s said the role was offered to Amitabh Bachchan who couldn’t do it.

Pighalta Aasmaan (1985)
The oodles of weight that he’d put on for Utsav disappeared to an extent. After all Shashi was playing an attractive businessman in Pighalta Aasmaan, one who woos two women at the same time. Like in Baseraa, Shashi’s character was really in support of the ladies played here by Raakhee and Rati Agnihotri. Once again Shashi delivered a fine performance with ease.

Pursuit of art
Shashi Kapoor was a popular star but throughout his career he maintained a keen interest in films with niche subjects. Most of his art inclined films were produced by Filmwala, Shashi’s Production Company.

Siddhartha (1972)
This arty film modelled on the life of Gautam Buddha and his quest for the answers in life has a cult following. Shashi played the title role in this film directed by Conrad Rooks.

Junoon (1979)
Shashi’s first production, Junoon was a period film about the Indian mutiny of 1857. Shashi played a nawab who was besotted with a young English girl.

New Delhi Times (1986)
An offbeat film about crime journalism, New Delhi Times featured one of Shashi’s best performances. He played a journalist investigating a big political story.

Vijeta (1982)
Shashi produced this coming-of-age story for son Kunal Kapoor’s budding movie career. He played Kunal’s father and a distraught man trapped in a turbulent marriage.

Jodi No 1
People talk about successful film pairings between actors and actresses, but Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan formed quite a team. They worked in 11 major Hindi films together, some where Shashi played the second fiddle and some where Amitabh did the same. Most films are remembered as Amitabh hits but on rare occasions Shashi held his own and impressed more than his lanky co-star.

Kabhi Kabhie (1976)
Shashi played the other guy in the romance between Amitabh Bachchan and Raakhee. It was one of those occasions where Shashi stole the thunder from Bachchan.

Trishul (1977)
This was Amitabh’s film as he played the illegitimate son to a baron played by Sanjeev Kumar. Shashi played the legal, happy go lucky and less ambitious son.

Kaala Patthar (1979)
Shashi shared screen space with Amitabh and Shatrughan Sinha. The latter men played coal mine workers while Shashi played the officer. Shashi’s restrained performance and romantic track with Parveen Babi were fantastic.

Suhaag (1979)
Suhaag was really a weird mix of themes from Amar Akbar Anthony, Trishul and Deewaar as two lost brothers found each other at opposite ends of the law. Shashi played inspector while Amitabh played the street goon.

Do Aur Do Paanch (1980)
Two con men try their hand at kidnapping a rich man’s son from school as they pretend to be teachers. Shashi played a music teacher while Amitabh played a physical trainer in this madcap comedy.

Shaan (1980)
Shashi and Amitabh played brothers who set out on a revenge mission against super villain Shakaal. They have help in the form of Shatrughan Sinha’s street smart ways.

Namak Halaal (1982)
This comedy was Amitabh Bachchan all the way as Shashi played his straight-faced employer with much conviction and restraint.

The Ivory tower
Ivory not for isolated delusion but because Shashi Kapoor’s films with Merchant Ivory Productions were as valuable
as ivory itself. Shashi began his association with filmmakers Ismail Merchant and James Ivory even before he became a star. And their affiliation continued till well after Shashi retired from mainstream roles.

The Householder (1963)
Shashi played an orthodox Indian struggling to come to grips with his wife’s independent nature.

Shakespearewallah (1965)
If you love Shakespeare, you’ll overlook the slow pace of this film and soak in the drama, humour and emotions. Shashi in particular played his earthy role well.

Bombay Talkie (1970)
Bombay Talkie paired Shashi Kapoor and wife Jennifer Kendal. Their real-life chemistry helped their onscreen affair. Shashi’s downfall in the film was impressive.

Heat and Dust (1983)
Shashi played a pompous nawab in British ruled India who pulls out many tricks to seduce an unsuspecting English woman.

In Custody (1994)
A unique tale of a man obsessed with recording the life of an ageing poet Nur Shahjehanabadi. Shashi played a dull and disturbed poet disinterested in the manic happenings in his home and life.