Bolly Flashback: Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor was a popular Indian movie actor and director, born on October 21, 1931, in Bombay, British India. Shammi was a member of the Kapoor clan, his father being legend Prithviraj Kapoor and his brothers Raj and Shashi Kapoor. Shammi was a leading star in from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, appearing in 132 films. As a young man, Shammi worked for his father’s theatres and as a junior artiste. In 1953, he made his debut in Hindi films with ‘Jeevan Jyoti’, but it was with Nasir Hussain’s ‘Tumsa Nahi Dekha’ in 1957 that he became a star. Although Shammi did serious roles, he was best known for his light-hearted, stylish playboy roles. Mohammed Rafi was often his voice in song, and many songs were picturized in Kashmir. Being the only dancing hero at the time, Shammi made up his own steps and never used a choreographer. In 1968, he won a Filmfare Best Actor Award for ‘Bramhachari’. In the early 70s, he began doing supporting roles and won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for ‘Vidhaata’ in 1982. Some of his best films are: ‘Junglee’ (1961), ‘Pfessor’ (1962), ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’ (1964), ‘Rajkumar’ (1964), ‘Teesri Manzil’ (1966), ‘An Evening in Paris’ (1967), and ‘Andaz’ (1971). Shammi died on August 7, 2011, of chronic renal failure. He was 79.
*deceased
