Trendsetter of Indian cinema,the eternal star

Since he had been ill for the past many years,his demise did not come as a shock,but the loss is nevertheless mourned by one and all in the film industry. It was,in fact,Amitabh Bachchan who broke the news on Twitter around 9 am on Sunday.

Saira Banu,his co-actor in many films,called him eternal. “He never showed the pain he underwent due to his illness. He was full of life,always laughing and talking. I never saw as much as a frown on his face,” she said.

Born to one of the most prominent actors in the film industry,Prithvi Raj Kapoor,Shamsher Raj Kapoor spent his early years in Kolkata,where most of his father’s work was. During his teen years,he moved to Mumbai and finished his schooling.

In the early days of college life,Kapoor chose to partake in his father’s theatre company,Prithvi Theatres. Despite the family legacy,he started his life as an actor at the very bottom of the rung — as a junior artiste in 1948.

Kapoor’s first break as a lead actor came in 1953 with Mahesh Kaul’s Jeevan Jyoti opposite Chand Usmani. After a string of unsuccessful films,Kapoor aligned with filmmaker Nasir Hussain. With him,the light-eyed actor gave his first successes — Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957) and Dil Deke Dekho (1959) — and became a heartthrob. Through the 1960s,he gave many classics,including Junglee,Kashmir Ki Kali and Janwar and came to be known for his uniquely flamboyant style and lively dancing.

Actor Sonam Kapoor said she grew up watching the reruns of his songs. “Shammiji was a legend. I remember watching his songs on TV just a few days ago and thinking what a wonderful dancer he is.”

Kapoor met his first wife,actress Geeta Bali,on the sets of a film in the early 1950s and they got married despite opposition from his family. In 1965,Bali passed away. In 1969,he married Neila,who hails from a royal family in Gujarat.

Even though his career as a lead actor was nearly over by 1970s due to his weight issues,Kapoor became known for his will to live a full life. He continued as a character actor through the 1990s,essaying roles that appealed to him. His last appearance was in Anees Bazmee’s film Sandwich in which he did a cameo.

By 2005,he was on dialysis at least thrice a week. Yet,he remained cheerful and lively. He dressed up in designer clothes and travelled extensively. Kapoor spoke to The Indian Express in an interview early this year about his love for taking off on long drives without informing his family members.

Filmmaker Siddharth Malhotra,his grand nephew,said his zest for life and learning always inspired him. “He wanted to explore something new whenever he could and that kept the child within him alive.”

Actor-director Farhan Akhtar said there is so much to learn not only from his cinema and sense of music,but also his way of life.

Few people,however,are aware of Kapoor’s prowess at technology. Apart from being one of the first people to use Internet in India,he was also the founder and chairman of Internet Users Community of India. Despite his illness,he remained active on Facebook and Twitter.

Director Anurag Kashyap referred to him as one of the trendsetters of India’s Internet era. However,it is his humility that most remember Kapoor best for. Actor Riteish Deshmukh said,“At an airport in Malaysia,I saw him from a distance and wanted to say hello to him. Then he walked up to me and said,‘I am Shammi Kapoor. I wanted to meet you and say hello.’ I was awestruck by his humility.”