Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor, hailed as 'Elvis Presley of India' and whose famous yell 'Yahoo' signified the arrival of a rebel star against the reigning trio of his time Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar, passed away here on Sunday morning due to chronic renal failure. The 79-year-old legend, who was often compared to Elvis Presley due to his looks, was in the ICU of Breach Candy Hospital and breathed his last on Sunday morning, family sources said.
The funeral will take place on Monday morning, they informed. Kapoor is survived by his wife Neeladevi, son Aditya Raj, daughter Kachan Desai. For the last few years, he was undergoing dialysis for three days a week. Born Shamsher Raj Kapoor on October 21, 1931, Kapoor was the middle son of veteran theatre and film actor Prithviraj Kapoor and younger brother of showman Raj Kapoor. Despite his family background, Shammi's entry into Bollywood was initially not successful even though he worked with major heroines like Madhubala in Rail ka dibba, Suraiya in Shama Parwana and Nalini Jaywant in Hum Sab Chor Hai.
His initial movies flopped at the box office. He reinvented himself with Tumsa Nahi Dekha cutting his hair in the famous duck-tail style of the 50s and never looked back since then. With the success of Junglee in 1961, an entire decade reeled under its colourful impact. Shammi heralded the swinging 60s and a large part of his appeal was primarily due to the immensely catchy and upbeat numbers like "Suku Suku","O Haseena Zulfo wali", "Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche", "Aaja Aaja Main hoon Pyar tera" where he was at his boisterous best.
Even though success came with light weight tales like Kashmir ki kali, Rajkumar, Jaanwar and An evening in Paris, his performances in flicks like Junglee, Badtameez, Bluff Master and Pagla Kahin Ka, Teesri Manzil, Brahmachari silenced his critics. Andaz released in 1971 was his last movie as a leading man but his character roles in Vidhata, Hero, Prem Rog were well received. Shammi was a computer aficionado and his last years were veered towards spiritualism.
The funeral will take place on Monday morning, they informed. Kapoor is survived by his wife Neeladevi, son Aditya Raj, daughter Kachan Desai. For the last few years, he was undergoing dialysis for three days a week. Born Shamsher Raj Kapoor on October 21, 1931, Kapoor was the middle son of veteran theatre and film actor Prithviraj Kapoor and younger brother of showman Raj Kapoor. Despite his family background, Shammi's entry into Bollywood was initially not successful even though he worked with major heroines like Madhubala in Rail ka dibba, Suraiya in Shama Parwana and Nalini Jaywant in Hum Sab Chor Hai.
His initial movies flopped at the box office. He reinvented himself with Tumsa Nahi Dekha cutting his hair in the famous duck-tail style of the 50s and never looked back since then. With the success of Junglee in 1961, an entire decade reeled under its colourful impact. Shammi heralded the swinging 60s and a large part of his appeal was primarily due to the immensely catchy and upbeat numbers like "Suku Suku","O Haseena Zulfo wali", "Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche", "Aaja Aaja Main hoon Pyar tera" where he was at his boisterous best.
Even though success came with light weight tales like Kashmir ki kali, Rajkumar, Jaanwar and An evening in Paris, his performances in flicks like Junglee, Badtameez, Bluff Master and Pagla Kahin Ka, Teesri Manzil, Brahmachari silenced his critics. Andaz released in 1971 was his last movie as a leading man but his character roles in Vidhata, Hero, Prem Rog were well received. Shammi was a computer aficionado and his last years were veered towards spiritualism.
The phenomenon called Shammi Kapoor
Years of hard struggle, patient perseverance and even hard-hitting brickbats created the "Shammi Kapoor phenomenon" which is remembered by his fans even after he bade adieu to the silver screen. Being the son of Prithviraj Kapoor and brother to "showman" Raj Kapoor, it wasnt easy to carve a niche for Shammi Kapoor, as some might think. When he embarked upon his acting career, he had to live up to a lot of expectations.
Shammi was aware that comparisons will be drawn because his brother was already an established superstar and an acclaimed filmmaker. He knew that if he needed to make a mark, he should be as different from his brother as possible. However, making his debut in 1953, Shammi's initial film portrayed him as nothing more than a mere shadow of his brother Raj.
Films like Rail Ka Dibba, Chor Bazaar, Shama Parvana, Hum Sab Chor Hain, Memsaheb and Miss Coca Cola had Shammi in a completely different get-up, especially his hairdo, his moustache, and even his on-screen antics resembled to those of Raj Kapoor to a considerable extent. It was only in 1957, with Nasir Hussain's Tumsa Nahin Dekha, that the actor finally tasted success. He sported a new look sans whiskers on the lines of the contemporary Hollywood greats like Elvis Presley and James Dean; and a star was born.
Shammi often discussed with his friends on how best to present himself, especially when his flicks bombed at the box office one after another. Bunny Ruben came up with the title rebel star, struggling to make a space against the reigning trio of Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar. <>Tumsa Nahin Dekha was also Nasir Hussain's directorial debut and its success prompted the Nasir-Shammi pair to follow up with several blockbusters.
One of the main highlights of the film was its foot-tapping music, and boisterous, smooth and easy dancing style of Shammi that gained immense popularity and literally became his trademark over the years. Incidentally, Shammi was happily married to well known actress Geeta Bali even before he became a star. And his marriage didn't affect his popularity even a bit. But unfortunately for him, Geeta Bali passed away too soon due to illness.
In 1959, the Nasir-Shammi combination delivered yet another superhit, Dil Deke Dekho which was also the launching pad for Asha Parekh. Shammi never looked back ever since. He finally hit big time in 1961 with the all-time classic, one of his most popular films till date Junglee, directed by Subodh Mukherjee. The film also attains significance for giving him the image of The Yahoo Yuppie. Junglee regarded as a 'cult classic' was incidentally one of the first romantic films to be made in colour.
Shammi's persona as a fun-loving, boisterous, romantic and rebellious hero worked very well and contributed to the success of many of his movies including China Town, Dil Tera Deewana and Professor. Aware of the kind of hysteria he generated among the youth, most of his films were hero-centric and youth-oriented. Filmmakers would cast new heroine opposite him to add freshness to the film. Some of the prominent ladies who made their debuts against Shammi later went on to become stars like Asha Parekh, Saira Banu and Sharmila Tagore.
The Nasir-Shammi combination struck gold at the box-office with Teesri Manzil, one of the most unforgettable films of Shammi's career. Shammi sashayed his way into young hearts aided by melodiously memorable music composed by R.D. Burman in the murder mystery directed by Vijay Anand. It was also one of Shammi's biggest hits. Despite his growing weight, An Evening In Paris, Brahmachari and Tumse Achha Kaun Hai did reasonably well. Salubrious music of these films had as much to contribute to their success.
One of Shammi's last films as a hero was Ramesh Sippy's Andaz, where he was paired opposite Hema Malini. Despite his successes, critics of that time would dismiss his films as lightweight tales and criticise him for his acting. But, he replied to criticism with sensitive performances in Brahmachari and highly charged Teesri Manzil.
Years of hard struggle, patient perseverance and even hard-hitting brickbats created the "Shammi Kapoor phenomenon" which is remembered by his fans even after he bade adieu to the silver screen. Being the son of Prithviraj Kapoor and brother to "showman" Raj Kapoor, it wasnt easy to carve a niche for Shammi Kapoor, as some might think. When he embarked upon his acting career, he had to live up to a lot of expectations.
Shammi was aware that comparisons will be drawn because his brother was already an established superstar and an acclaimed filmmaker. He knew that if he needed to make a mark, he should be as different from his brother as possible. However, making his debut in 1953, Shammi's initial film portrayed him as nothing more than a mere shadow of his brother Raj.
Films like Rail Ka Dibba, Chor Bazaar, Shama Parvana, Hum Sab Chor Hain, Memsaheb and Miss Coca Cola had Shammi in a completely different get-up, especially his hairdo, his moustache, and even his on-screen antics resembled to those of Raj Kapoor to a considerable extent. It was only in 1957, with Nasir Hussain's Tumsa Nahin Dekha, that the actor finally tasted success. He sported a new look sans whiskers on the lines of the contemporary Hollywood greats like Elvis Presley and James Dean; and a star was born.
Shammi often discussed with his friends on how best to present himself, especially when his flicks bombed at the box office one after another. Bunny Ruben came up with the title rebel star, struggling to make a space against the reigning trio of Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar. <>Tumsa Nahin Dekha was also Nasir Hussain's directorial debut and its success prompted the Nasir-Shammi pair to follow up with several blockbusters.
One of the main highlights of the film was its foot-tapping music, and boisterous, smooth and easy dancing style of Shammi that gained immense popularity and literally became his trademark over the years. Incidentally, Shammi was happily married to well known actress Geeta Bali even before he became a star. And his marriage didn't affect his popularity even a bit. But unfortunately for him, Geeta Bali passed away too soon due to illness.
In 1959, the Nasir-Shammi combination delivered yet another superhit, Dil Deke Dekho which was also the launching pad for Asha Parekh. Shammi never looked back ever since. He finally hit big time in 1961 with the all-time classic, one of his most popular films till date Junglee, directed by Subodh Mukherjee. The film also attains significance for giving him the image of The Yahoo Yuppie. Junglee regarded as a 'cult classic' was incidentally one of the first romantic films to be made in colour.
Shammi's persona as a fun-loving, boisterous, romantic and rebellious hero worked very well and contributed to the success of many of his movies including China Town, Dil Tera Deewana and Professor. Aware of the kind of hysteria he generated among the youth, most of his films were hero-centric and youth-oriented. Filmmakers would cast new heroine opposite him to add freshness to the film. Some of the prominent ladies who made their debuts against Shammi later went on to become stars like Asha Parekh, Saira Banu and Sharmila Tagore.
The Nasir-Shammi combination struck gold at the box-office with Teesri Manzil, one of the most unforgettable films of Shammi's career. Shammi sashayed his way into young hearts aided by melodiously memorable music composed by R.D. Burman in the murder mystery directed by Vijay Anand. It was also one of Shammi's biggest hits. Despite his growing weight, An Evening In Paris, Brahmachari and Tumse Achha Kaun Hai did reasonably well. Salubrious music of these films had as much to contribute to their success.
One of Shammi's last films as a hero was Ramesh Sippy's Andaz, where he was paired opposite Hema Malini. Despite his successes, critics of that time would dismiss his films as lightweight tales and criticise him for his acting. But, he replied to criticism with sensitive performances in Brahmachari and highly charged Teesri Manzil.
