Prince among actors

He was handsome as hell, bordering on beautiful. He could have made it big on looks alone but he chose to act as well. Shashi Kapoor was our first actor who caught the eye of foreign filmmakers, charming the Western audience not only through his sublime looks but also his subtle acting in films like The Householder and Siddhartha. The dashing actor never reached the numero uno spot in Hindi cinema but was recognised nevertheless as a bankable romantic lead. His true forte was revealed in the ensemble films of the ’70s. There, he teamed up mostly with Amitabh Bachchan to give  memorable performances. Here he came into his own despite playing the smaller role, in films like Deewar and Kabhie Kabhie. He segued into the art circuit with films like Junoon, Kalyug, Vijeta and New Delhi Times and it’s here, where bereft of commercial trappings, the actor in him excelled. He didn’t play to a formula but essayed characters vivid and lifelike. Here’s looking at some of his memorable outings down the years…

Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965)
Shashi Kapoor played a Kashmiri madly in love with a snooty heiress played by Nanda. The exotic locations complemented his good looks and made up for the melodramatic plot. The film was later remade as Raja Hindustani. It was a musical hit, comprising songs like Na na karte pyar, Pardesiyon se na akhiyan milana, Ek tha gul composed by Kalyanji-Anandji. It was his first big solo hit and led to his pairing with Nanda in seven more films.

Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966)
Shashi tried his hand at comedy and his precise timing with Kishore Kumar, who played his best friend and confidante, showcased his versatility. This romcom was a remake of Tamil hit Kadhalikka Neramillai (1964) and apart from the antics of Shashi and Kishore had Mehmood enacting one of his most memorable roles, that of a wannabe filmmaker, with the banner Wah Wah Productions, in the film.

Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1968)
Two young men, who happen to look alike but have diferent temperaments fall for the same girl, played by Babita. She chooses the good guy but war breaks out and both volunteer for the army. They meet at the border and the bad guy tries to kill the good. Only one guy seemingly survives the fight and the result is a Prakash Mehra potboiler filled with twists and turns. Shashi worked hard at giving different nuances to both characters and had fun doing it.

Pyar Ka Mausam (1969)
The lost and found formula was Nasir Hussain’s forte and Pyar Ka Mausam was no exception. Shashi Kapoor appeared as three different characters in the melodrama. He had a gala time fooling the heroine, Asha Parekh and making her fall in love with him in the process. The romance was helped by such songs as Ni sultana re and Tum bin, jaoon kaha. The latter song created a controversy as both Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar had sung it but Kishore’s version was deemed better.

Sharmilee (1971)
The plot of Haseena Maan Jaayegi got flipped here. Raakhee played a double role – that of a coy homely girl and her evil twin who had ambitions of being a second Mata Hari. Shashi played a debonair army officer who uncovers a dastardly scheme against the Indian armed forces. The musical crime thriller is still known for its songs like Khilte hai gul yahan, O meri Sharmilee, Aaj madhosh hua jaye re and the classical Megha chhaye aadhi raat.

Chor Machaye Shor (1974)
He was always Ravi, the good brother, but here Shashi played Vijay, a violent young man who borders on being the villain in some scenes. Thankfully, the actor realised that such brand of anger didn’t suit him and refrained from taking on such crazy roles in later films. The film was the usual revenge drama with a twist – the hero goes to jail, makes some dodgy friends and the group unites to reform their hamlet and teach a lesson to corrupt politicians. The film is remembered for Le jayenge, le jayenge dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge song, from which Yash Chopra took the cue for the title of his immortal SRK-Kajol starrer.

Fakira (1976)
Long-lost brothers, a female cop who infiltrates the hero’s gang, a Robin Hood like hero who robs the smugglers and distributes the proceeds among the poor, a catfight between two women in love with the hero – Fakira had all the classic masala tropes going for it. It even had a palang tod, i.e. bed breaking scene, quite bold for its times.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978)
The film was a reworking of Raj Kapoor’s own Aag. There, the hero disfigured himself in a fit of self-sacrifice and in the end finds someone who manages to look beyond his scarred face. Here, Shashi falls in love with a beautiful voice, failing to realise that the voice belonged to a woman (Zeenat Aman), whose face is half disfigured by fire. How the hero manages to look beyond her physical disfigurement and discover the spiritual essence of love, forms the crux of this melodious melodrama. The film had songs like Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Bhor bhaye panghat pe, Yashomati maiya se made evergreen by Lata Mangeshkar, who was said to be inspiration behind the project.

ART CIRCUIT

The Householder (1963)
Shashi played a confused husband yet to learn the secret of marital harmony in what would be his first international feature. He had the vivacious Leela Naidu as his co-star and a more beautiful onscreen couple has seldom graced the big screen. His naivete, his mawkishness are all achingly real and so is the fledging romance between the newlyweds. The success of this Merchant-Ivory production paved the way for more international collaborations between Shashi and the producer-director team.

Shakespeare Wallah (1965)
The actor played a rake in the film. The period drama was inspired by the experiences of theatre personality Geoffrey Kendal’s family, who toured India with their troupe Shakespeareana and staged Shakespeare’s plays, just like the Buckingham family in the film. Shashi romanced his sister-in-law Felicity Kendal as also Madhur Jaffery, who played a Bollywood heroine. The poignant tale of a British family failing to adjust in India post-Independence is a must watch.

Siddhartha (1972)
Shashi played a young prince who goes through a journey of self-discovery in the film. He goes through a whole gamut of experiences – from the heights of carnal pleasure to intense asceticism. He lost a lot of weight to achieve that look. The film, based on a novel by Herman Hesse and directed by Conrad Rooks was much talked about for the nude scenes involving Simi Garewal.

Junoon (1978)
Shashi played a feudal Pathan during the time of the 1857 Uprising, who isn’t interested in the politics of the era. He gives sanctuary to a British woman, her mother and her daughter (Nafisa Ali), with whom he falls in love. His wife is upset and so is the girl’s mother. The two women conspire against him, leading to much heartburn.

Kalyug (1981)
Shyam Benegal brought to life a modern interpretation of The Mahabharata with this film. Shashi played the ‘illegitimate’ Karan, someone good at heart but who chooses to stay with the wrong side to honour his friendship. His silent longing for Rekha’s character, depicted subtly and his cool-handed manipulations and his personal angst all add to the flavour of the film.

Vijeta (1982)
Shashi played a father who is overtly proud that his son is a fighter pilot. But beneath the bravado beats the gentle heart, who fears for his son’s safety. The focus of this coming-of-age film was on Shashi’s real-life son Kunal Kapoor and on the aerial combat scenes shot with the help of actual IAF pilots.

New Delhi Times (1986)
This film portrayed how the media is duped into doing the dirty work of the politicians. Shashi played a die-hard editor, who refuses to bend down to threats in his bid to uncover the truth, only to find out in the end that he was merely a pawn in someone’s diabolical game.

Waqt (1965)
It was the baap of all multistarrers, a musical extravaganza clubbed with a lost and found tale that would have done both Nasir Hussain and Manmohan Desai proud. While Raaj Kumar and Sunil Dutt had roles that required them to be suave, Shashi had a restrained, understated role but he managed to get himself noticed even then. It sort of became a template for him to emulate in later films.

Kabhie Kabhie (1976)
It was a love story spanning two generations. Shashi played a man who regards the poet, played by Amitabh Bachchan, in high regard. When he comes to know that his wife was once the poet’s muse and that they were a much in love couple, he takes pride in his wife’s beauty, instead of feeling jealous. That one scene belonged to Shashi because he struck a blow for the nice men and pointed out that they don’t necessarily finish last.

Deewar (1975)
“Bhai tum sign karoge ya nahin,” and “Mere paas maa hai,” have become iconic at par with the Sholay dialogue “Kitne aadmi they?” But the man who said it wasn’t angry nor was he a dacoit. Rather, he was trying to be sane in an insane world, someone who believed in rules. Someone who wanted to change the system from within. Shashi played the idealistic foil to Amitabh Bachchan’s lost rebel and made people sit up and take notice of his honest and dignified  performance.

Trishul (1978)
It’s hard to make your presence felt when you’re sandwiched between stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjeev Kumar. But Shashi managed to do just that. His character changed from being a careless flirty rich brat to a caring brother who copes with his father’s past and his own angst. His graph was a neat addition to the charged stand offs between Bachchan and Kumar and added another emotional layer to the film.

Kala Patthar (1979)
The film was a fictionalised portrayal of what ails the mining sector. Shashi had to hold his own against a brooding Amitabh Bachchan and a rough-hued Shatrughan Sinha. His was the middle path between anger and arrogance. His breezy entry via the song Ek raasta hai zindagi sets the tone for his role of an  engineer who loves to live it large but cares about the safety of coal miners. His romantic scenes with Parveen Babi offer a contrast to those where he acts as a buffer between Bachchan and Sinha.

Suhaag (1979)
This Manmohan Desai caper had Shashi playing an upright inspector who at first spars with his outlaw brother. The erring brother reforms and becomes an inspector when the earnest brother goes blind. Whew! Shashi played it all with a game face and even his delight at having got his vision back – thanks to the dying wish of his evil father – seems super genuine.

Silsila (1981)
This is perhaps the only film where Shashi played the elder brother of Amitabh. The duo shower together as adults and joke about not dropping the soap while doing so. Alas, after being featured in the lovely Sar se sarki song with Jaya Bachchan, having a drunken heart-to-heart chat with his brother, our air force officer is killed off. The film is super frothy till he’s around but things become all serious after he departs.