Shammi Kapoor: Unique, trendy and the King of rhythms

The film industry reacted with shock at the demise of veteran actor Shammi Kapoor at Breach Candy hospital in the wee hours of August 14. The actor, who had been put on ventilator on August 13, had been suffering from kidney ailments for quite some time. On hearing the news, the entire Kapoor khandaan including Kareena assembled at the Kapoor residence. She is said to have been in a state of shock on hearing the news about her grand-uncle and cancelled all her professional commitments for the day.         

While the world remembers the iconic star as their ‘Prince’ with pride, his leading ladies state that there’s no one  in the film industry who could match his personality.  “He was my first Hindi film hero,” recalls Sharmila Tagore, who formed a successful pairing with the actor. “There’s just no one like like Shammi Kapoor — his music, his sense of comedy, his acting, everything was so fantastic! Whatever he did back then, the youngsters are doing it now,” she adds.

Vyjantimala refers to Shammi as the King of Rhythms. “I cannot believe that the King of Rhythms has ceased to be.  I always took pride in being a classical dancer of repute until I met Shammiji. I was quite astonished at the way he choreographed himself in the song  Badanpe sitaarein lapete huye in Prince. The song was picturised in three takes. He is the only actor in India, who choreographed all his song sequences himself,” she said.

Mala Sinha remembers that her hero was a shy person. “The first time I worked with Shammi was in Ujala (1960). He was quite different to his elder brother Raj Kapoor. He was really shy initially, but whenever the time came to give combined shot, Shammi breathed in emotions like a highly gifted actor. Three years later, we worked in Dil Tera Deewana. During the song sequence, Mujhe kitna pyar hai, he overshadowed everybody with his undeniable sense of rhythm,” said  Mala.

Sadhana remembers Shammi as her all-time favourite co-star. “The dignity he gave to each of each of his co-stars is unbelievable and unknown in today’s generation,” she said.