Grand old memories

What’s common between Rani Mukerji, Shammi Kapoor, Tanuja and Kishore Kumar? Tough one, eh? Well, it’s the patriarch of Bollywood’s most famous Mukherjee clan, the redoubtable Sashadhar Mukherjee. The 100th birth anniversary celebrations of Sashadhar – the founder of Filmalaya Studio, the grandfather of Rani Mukerji, Kajol and Sharbani Mukherjee, the father-in-law of Tanuja, the man who established Shammi Kapoor’s career with the cult film Junglee and the brother-in-law of Kishore and Ashok Kumar (he was married to their sister Sati Rani) — was an affair to remember.

An ailing Shammi Kapoor made the effort to be present, recalled Sashadhar as a mentor to him. “The first film I auditioned for was Anarkali but I failed the test. Later I worked with him in Tumsa Nahin Dekha and of course Junglee,” said Shammi, who was accompanied by wife Neela and son Aditya. All Sashadhar’s children (with the exception of late Shomu Mukherjee, Kajol’s father) were present to honour him – Joy, Rono (Sharbani’s father), Deb, Subir and Shibani.