During an Indian Idol show which was a tribute to Late Rajesh Khanna, actor Jeetendra said “Superstars die twice. First when they lose their superstar status and are lost in oblivion and then when God decides to end their sufferings.”
His this comment took me into flashback to a time when I was a big Shammi Kapoor fan.
My feelings for him were always mixed ,thanks to Doordarshan which on one hand showed him as a young flamboyant heart throb and on the other hand showed him as a bearded father of the groom who tells the bride's father “ baaratiyon ka swagat Pan Parag se ho”
Still when I think of him, the picture which comes in my mind is of a guy playing passionately on the piano “Dil ke jharoke main tujhko baitha kar,yaadon ko teri main dulhan bana kar, rakhoonga main dil ke paas ,mat ho meri jaan udaas.” While other heroes of that time were more reserved and gentlemanly in their manner, he wooed the girl with boisterous sensuality accompanied by a brash, cocky swagger and an energetic eagerness to rebuke convention.
It was a general expectation that there would be no obstacles in the way of Shammi Kapoor’s success as he was the son of legendary actor Prithvi Raj and brother of Raj Kapoor another super star. But the gawky young Shammi who sported a pencil-thin moustache and greasy, slicked back hair, soon found himself amidst a heap of flops.He had fifteen films as flops to his credit till 1957.
It was 'Tum Sa Nahin Dekha' which totally changed his image. Filmstan announced 'Tum Sa Nahin Dekha' where the evergreen Dev Anand was supposed to play the hero but Dev refused to do the film when he found that a newcomer Ameeta was the heroine. When Shammi was offered the film, taking a cue from his Hollywood screen idols, James Dean and Elvis Presley, Shammi decided to reinvent himself in the 'rebel star' mould .He shaved off his moustache and brought a flamboyant mannerism which was never seen in Indian cinema. His new haircut and clean-shaven face suddenly focused attention on his mesmerising eyes, which become his trademark as he melted his heroines with a mere glance.The dynamism in his dancing and acting gave birth to a new Shammi, The Rockstar .
After the success of Tumsa Nahin Dekha, he had no job for six months because he had promised himself that he wouldn't sign a film for less than a lakh of rupees.He also wanted to have his kind of music and role. In that time he took his jeep and went for shikars to Bhopal ( http://www.junglee.org.in/shikar.html )
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Shammi Kapoor films were hero centric and youth oriented. He cashed in on the public adulation showered on the brash, brattish lover by working out extensions of the same in many of his subsequent films. Big-time stardom came Shammi's way with Dil Deke Dekho (1959) and Junglee (1961). With Junglee, Shammi gifted the Hindi film screen dictionary a new word ,Yahoo!
Talking of Junglee, in a BBC Asian Network interview Shammi said: “It was a great moment in my life, it was practically the first movie in colour that we did.” The term ‘yahoo’ was strongly associated with Shammi Kapoor and it wasn’t Junglee where he used it first.
He said, “I did the ‘yahoo’ in Tumsa Nahin Dekha before the Bhangra song Sir Peh Topi Lal, then I did ‘yahoo’ again in Dil Deke Dekho in the song Yaar Tau Chulbula Hai and eventually I turned it into a song in Junglee.”
As for what ‘yahoo’ meant, Shammi said: “It was an expression, I felt very exuberant the whole thing about the boy having achieved his goal, he gets the girl and he goes yahoo!”
Through the sixties, Shammi gave many hits like College Girl, Basant, Singapore, Boy Friend, Professor, Dil Tera Diwana, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, Bluff Master, Janwar and Rajkumar. He jolted the critics with his charged performance of a murder suspect wanting to exonerate himself in the racy thriller, Teesri Manzil (1966). His turn as the sensitive bachelor who provides home and love to orphans in Bramhachari (1968) won him the Filmfare award for the Best Actor. He made a unique place for himself in the industry as he was the only dancing hero in Hindi films from the late fifties till early seventies.
He did his own choreography and steps and usually they were on the spot. No one has ever been able to replicate such exquisite and unique dancing in Bollywood . Saira Banu said in an interview "At the time when Dilip sahab, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand ruled the industry, it was Shammi Kapoor who created a niche for himself with his unique dance moves. He used to say he didn't know how to dance but he would just listen to the music and feel it. He used to compose dancing steps by himself in the songs picturised on him and never needed a choreographer. This earned him the name of Elvis Presley of India.
Besides Shammi's exuberance and dancing ability a large part of his appeal was also due to the extremely hummable and catchy songs picturised on him. Songs like Suku Suku, Ae Gulbadan, Deewana Hua Badal, Tumne Pukara Aur Hum Chale Aaye, Tumse Achha Kaun Hai, O Mere Sona Re, Akele Akele Kahaan Jaa Rahe Ho, Raat ke hamsafar, Aajkal Tere Mere Pyaar ke Charche, Badan pe Sitare and Hain Na Bolo Bolo are remebered and hummed even today Increasing age, burgeoning weight and the Rajesh Khanna wave that swept the nation in 1969 saw Shammi Kapoor bow out as a leading man. His last hit film, in which he played the lead role, was
Andaz (1971). As the widower who falls in love with a widow (Hema) it was one of his best performances but unfortunatehly , he had to share the limelight with Rajesh Khanna who thundered with
Zindagi ek safar in a special appearance.
As his career as hero ended, Shammi started playing bearded heavy weight character roles and wearing towards spiritualism besides directing films like Manoranjan (1974) and Bandalbaaz (1976). He played
Saira Banu's father in
Zameer (1974), when he had been her leading man a decade earlier in
Junglee (1961) and
Bluff Master (1964). In 1982
he won Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for
Vidhaata . For a short period of time he produced his own Video Entertainment Magazine called "Shammi Kapoor presents Manoranjan". In 1995 he got the Filmfare Lifetime Acheivement Award.
Shammi was an avid writer and shared his innermost thoughts with the readers of magazines like Filmfare.
He had written in a piece (Filmfare January 3, 1958) that his was a "one man rebellion, trying to break the old and make the new. A rebel who wanted to find himself, his real self, not a reflection of the personalities of other people." And later, after giving it a thought, “I am a born Bohemian, unconventional in everything… I hate rigid, iron-clad rules and regulations. I want to be free. Perhaps that’s why I seem unusual to others. I rebel against conventions. Anything that smacks of formality, anything that is pedestrian is anathema to me.”
He was crazy about cars and loved long drives. So much so that he didn’t give up driving even with age catching up with him. He would get his cars custom made to give them a touch of his style and persona. ( ht
tp://www.junglee.org.in/firstcar.html )
He lived his life to the fullest. Be it the latest gadgets or fashion fads or then the popular lingo, Shammi was always at it. He loved to interact with the young and keep himself abreast about everything hot, hip and happening.
Shammi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan were great friends. Shammi Kapoor composed the antara of 'Neela Aasama So Gaya' from Silisila along with Amitabh Bachchan. They made the tune together. While Shammi Kapoor hummed, Bachchan stringed his guitar .
Shammi Kapoor was also one of the foremost internet users in India. He bought his first computer in London, just to get rid of transit boredom and fell in love with computing. He was the founder and chairman of Internet Users Community of India (IUCI) and has been instrumental in setting up internet organizations like the Ethical Hackers Association.
In an interview Shammi recalls that “when Yahoo opened its office in Mumbai several years ago he was invited by Jerry Yang. As the launch festivities started building towards a climax, Kapoor was pleasantly surprised to hear the band playing his Yahoo song from the film Junglee . Later, Yang told him how inspired he was by the Yahoo song and the way the actor had used the word in his inimitable style in so many of his films.
"It was all very flattering. Many of my relatives still call up and ask whether I own Yahoo,"
He also maintained a website dedicated to the ‘Kapoor family’ http://junglee.org.in and was also active on social networks. He described himself on Twitter as Renaissance man, retired actor, computer buff.
In an interview Shammi ji said that "The machine (computer) did another good to me,the moment the mouse came in my hand, the cigarette flew away…permanently.
At the age of 78,Shammi Kapoor started Unplugged on You tube which was about nostalgia and a walk down memory lane. The legendary actor takes you through the beautiful memories of a super successful career that spanned over five decades and a life lived to the fullest-straight from the heart. He uploaded 108 videos in one year and almost 28 lakh people have viewed them till now.
http://www.youtube.com/user/shammikapoor
Keeping poor health for quite some time and having to go for dialysis regularly, he passed away on August 14, 2011. However, he will always be remembered as Bollywood's first and last Rockstar .
Even today, video and DVD libraries vouch for the fact that Shammi Kapoor's movies are rented out the maximum and in a poll conducted by a Film Magazine a few years ago, he was named the best ever dancing hero that Hindi Films has seen!
And the memories of the legend will be refreshed every time one sings the song "Tum mujhe yun bhula na paaoge, jab kabhi bhi sunoge geet mere, sang sang tum bhi gungunaoge"
(
To be continued ..Shammi Kapoor ,The Eternal Lover )
