Yahoo man will live forever

Or his effortless dance in Aaja Aaja and Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar. Oozing with style and oomph, Shammi burst onto the big screen in the 50s and took the world by storm with his unconventional and rebellious antics —  be it sliding down a mountain of snow in Junglee or hanging from a helicopter in ‘An Evening In Paris’.  Fans of the actor are mourning his death but affirm that he will continue to live forever through his fabulous movies.

Nagesh, a landscape designer, has organised many retro Hindi song shows and is a big Shammi fan. “With his free-spirited nature, he completely changed the dynamics of cinema. He was such a natural that even he wouldn’t know what his next step was going to be,” says Nagesh.  “I specially loved ‘An Evening In Paris’ because of the lovely songs it had, thanks to composers Shankar-Jaikishan. The group of Mohammad Rafi, Shammi and Shankar-Jaikishan was a sureshot winner. Whenever anyone takes Shammi’s name, I remember the scene in the film where he is on a Lambretta scooter trying to woo Sharmila Tagore,” he adds.

When he was seven-year-old, Manoj Agarwal, a businessman, watched Brahmachari in which Shammi had excellently portrayed the role of a bachelor taking care of young children. “It largely inspired Shekhar Kapoor’s ‘Mr India’ in the 1980s,” says Manoj.
“Shammi had a unique style and was a complete youth icon. He was the first hero to dance on the big screen.”

He adds, “He also had a good sense of music and would personally attend all the recording sessions. The original Govinda Aala Re was picturised on Shammi and is now the most played song during festivals.”

The current generation loves Shammi too. Radhika Gupta, a young professional, feels Shammi was always young at heart. “He was so handsome and the youth was totally enamoured by his loo­ks. His mannerisms and songs are evergreen. He would just make you dance to his tunes. Yahoo is my eternal fav­ourite,” she says. “The Indian cinema is surely going to miss the king of hearts,” she adds.

Says Aniket, a young professional and a singer, “Shammi had a great ear for music. He would often discuss with the music directors and singers (in his case being Rafi) about what he was going to do on screen. That’s why all of his songs are gems.” Anik­et has performed many of Shammi’s songs like Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujhpar, O Has­eena, Aaja Aaja and O Mere Sona Re. “All his songs make me smile. In fact, I regularly sing Remama Re to my kids and they totally enjoy it,” he laughs. Well, looks like even the future generations will cherish Shammi’s movies and music for a long time to come.

S V Rajendra Singh Babu  Veteran film-maker :“Shammi was a close friend of mine and I did two Hindi films with him. He was an extremely humble and lively person. I remember the time when he had come to Bangalore for a shoot and Vishnu (Vishnuvardhan), a huge fan of Shammi, invited him to his house. So the three of us had a lot of fun in Vishnu’s house.”

“I am so fortunate to have worked with him. Once we were shooting in Ooty, and it was really cold. But he was very cooperative and completed the shoot without any glitches. He even danced for a scene with Sharmila Tagore in his older days despite having health problems. It’s unfortunate that everyone has to die someday but Shammi will live on forever in the pages of history through his fantastic performances.”

Risheeka Actress :“I have met Shammi once when I was really young. He introduced a new style to cinema and his creation ‘Yahoo’ has become the name of a website today! My favourite movie of his is Teesri Manzil. It’s a beautiful thriller and keeps you
guessing till the end.” 

RAMESH DEMBLA Fashion designer:When it comes to style, Shammi was totally ahead of his time. His style was like that of Elvis Presley. He never sported bright colours or shimmery jackets like the heroes of those days. He would wear perfectly fitted suits, jackets and pointed shoes which are totally in even now. Lots of heroes have imitated his style and his dance moves. Be it his songs or even his hairstyle, everything is in vogue even today.”