<p>“I am a flop actor and producer who has simply paled into oblivion,” says Shashi Kapoor, smiling, while sipping Irish coffee in his favourite cup on a recent afternoon at Prithvi Theatre. Illness and inability to move has forced the handsome, natural actor of yesteryears to use a wheelchair and he now shies away from the media. Shashi Kapoor has completed his golden jubilee in films silently along with Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar, his illustrious contemporaries.<br /><br />Last year, he was felicitated at IFFI, Goa, for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. A series of conversations about his old films, James Ivory and Ismail Merchant and Satyajit Ray, cheer him up and the Englishman Kapoor is in his element. He recalls, “I refused the national award for the best actor in 1963, though I was offered the same for my performance in Dharamputra. I did not consider myself worthy of it.” Till date, Kapoor is the only living actor who had the courage and honesty to refuse the most coveted award. He however did win one for his brilliant performance in New Delhi Times in 1986.<br />About the National Awards, Kapoor opines, “I lost all faith in the National Awards after my wife Jenifer Kendal lost it to Rekha for Umrao Jaan in 1980. Her performance as Mrs Stoneham in 36 Chowringhee Lane was leagues ahead of Rekha’s. It is a tragedy in our nation that actors of the calibre of Chabi Biswas, Balraj Sahni, Dilip Kumar and Waheeda Rehman never received any National Awards. I feel the National Awards Jury Committee merely took pity on an icon like Soumitra Chatterjee and awarded him in 2007. That also for a performance which is nowhere compared to his previous ones in Apur Sansar, Khudito Pashan and Sansar Simante.”<br /><br />Well known for his competent and mature acting, Kapoor never adopted any distinct style like his elder brothers, Raj and Shammi. He explains, “Raj-saab was at his best mingling laughter with tears. Shammi-saab is still unbeatable in rhythm and a rare mixing of emotions as well as comic features. Their images were so powerful that Raj-saab got stuck in his Chaplinisque gestures and Shammi-saab was forced to repeat his ‘Junglee’ image time and again. I was never attracted to stardom and always wanted to remain a natural actor.”<br /><br />Char Diwari was Shashi Kapoor’s debut film and he proved his undeniable talent in Prem Patra, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Waqt, Junoon and Kalyug. Satyajit Ray felt that after Balraj Sahni, Kapoor was India’s only actor ideally suited for English films. Kapoor did prove Ray right with his performances in Householder, Shakespearewala, Pretty Polly, The Deceiver and In Custody. <br /><br />He reminiscences, “James Ivory and Ismail Merchant started the trend of artistic English films in 1962 with Householder. Because of my association with Prithvi Theatre, Geoffrey and Jennifer Kendal, I struck a warm rapport with both. They brought out the best in me through their films which were intelligently written and directed.”<br /><br />Hrishikesh Mukherjee who edited Char Diwari pinned high hopes on Kapoor as an actor and signed him for Anand in 1971. “Everything was ready. When I went to shoot for Anand on the first day, Hrishikesh Mukherjee politely told me that I was no more required and another actor, Rajesh Khanna, had replaced me in the lead role. I was heartbroken. I decided never to work with him anymore. Had it been Bimal Ray, he would have never behaved in such a manner,” says Kapoor, his eyes bearing a sad look.<br /><br />What about his playing second fiddle to Amitabh Bachhan in film after film from Deewar onwards? “No regrets,” says Kapoor, smiling. “I noticed a rare intensity in him and made it a point to back him as much as I could, even at the cost of my career. He still acknowledges it and is the greatest star of Indian cinema in the last four decades.”<br />As a producer, Kapoor produced some amazing films like Junoon, 36 Chowringhee Lane, Kalyug and Vijeta. But they all flopped. Kapoor sighs, “I collected money with a lot of effort from all the commercial ventures I performed in. This was with the sole idea of making purposeful films. Alas! All my productions flopped driving me to near penury. But I did introduce Aparna Sen as a director with 36 Chowringhee Lane since I saw sparks in her script, and what a brilliant film it was.”<br /><br />Kapoor’s only directorial venture, Ajooba, a costume fantasy, didn’t do well either. He admits, “After Ajooba I understood that I had had my innings and should call it a day. So after In Custody I retired with dignity from films.” <br />In his golden jubilee year, Kapoor pays compliments to colleagues Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar, and remembers with respect his first heroine, Nanda. “She was an inborn actor and the most cooperative actress when it came to newcomers. In my biggest hit, Jab Jab Phool Khile, I acted along with her. She excelled both in Indian and occidental characters, and even Sridevi copied her blatantly in her films. Watch the song sequence ‘Yeh Shama’ from Jab Jab Phool Khile and you will understand that I am not wrong.”<br /></p>
<p>“I am a flop actor and producer who has simply paled into oblivion,” says Shashi Kapoor, smiling, while sipping Irish coffee in his favourite cup on a recent afternoon at Prithvi Theatre. Illness and inability to move has forced the handsome, natural actor of yesteryears to use a wheelchair and he now shies away from the media. Shashi Kapoor has completed his golden jubilee in films silently along with Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar, his illustrious contemporaries.<br /><br />Last year, he was felicitated at IFFI, Goa, for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. A series of conversations about his old films, James Ivory and Ismail Merchant and Satyajit Ray, cheer him up and the Englishman Kapoor is in his element. He recalls, “I refused the national award for the best actor in 1963, though I was offered the same for my performance in Dharamputra. I did not consider myself worthy of it.” Till date, Kapoor is the only living actor who had the courage and honesty to refuse the most coveted award. He however did win one for his brilliant performance in New Delhi Times in 1986.<br />About the National Awards, Kapoor opines, “I lost all faith in the National Awards after my wife Jenifer Kendal lost it to Rekha for Umrao Jaan in 1980. Her performance as Mrs Stoneham in 36 Chowringhee Lane was leagues ahead of Rekha’s. It is a tragedy in our nation that actors of the calibre of Chabi Biswas, Balraj Sahni, Dilip Kumar and Waheeda Rehman never received any National Awards. I feel the National Awards Jury Committee merely took pity on an icon like Soumitra Chatterjee and awarded him in 2007. That also for a performance which is nowhere compared to his previous ones in Apur Sansar, Khudito Pashan and Sansar Simante.”<br /><br />Well known for his competent and mature acting, Kapoor never adopted any distinct style like his elder brothers, Raj and Shammi. He explains, “Raj-saab was at his best mingling laughter with tears. Shammi-saab is still unbeatable in rhythm and a rare mixing of emotions as well as comic features. Their images were so powerful that Raj-saab got stuck in his Chaplinisque gestures and Shammi-saab was forced to repeat his ‘Junglee’ image time and again. I was never attracted to stardom and always wanted to remain a natural actor.”<br /><br />Char Diwari was Shashi Kapoor’s debut film and he proved his undeniable talent in Prem Patra, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Waqt, Junoon and Kalyug. Satyajit Ray felt that after Balraj Sahni, Kapoor was India’s only actor ideally suited for English films. Kapoor did prove Ray right with his performances in Householder, Shakespearewala, Pretty Polly, The Deceiver and In Custody. <br /><br />He reminiscences, “James Ivory and Ismail Merchant started the trend of artistic English films in 1962 with Householder. Because of my association with Prithvi Theatre, Geoffrey and Jennifer Kendal, I struck a warm rapport with both. They brought out the best in me through their films which were intelligently written and directed.”<br /><br />Hrishikesh Mukherjee who edited Char Diwari pinned high hopes on Kapoor as an actor and signed him for Anand in 1971. “Everything was ready. When I went to shoot for Anand on the first day, Hrishikesh Mukherjee politely told me that I was no more required and another actor, Rajesh Khanna, had replaced me in the lead role. I was heartbroken. I decided never to work with him anymore. Had it been Bimal Ray, he would have never behaved in such a manner,” says Kapoor, his eyes bearing a sad look.<br /><br />What about his playing second fiddle to Amitabh Bachhan in film after film from Deewar onwards? “No regrets,” says Kapoor, smiling. “I noticed a rare intensity in him and made it a point to back him as much as I could, even at the cost of my career. He still acknowledges it and is the greatest star of Indian cinema in the last four decades.”<br />As a producer, Kapoor produced some amazing films like Junoon, 36 Chowringhee Lane, Kalyug and Vijeta. But they all flopped. Kapoor sighs, “I collected money with a lot of effort from all the commercial ventures I performed in. This was with the sole idea of making purposeful films. Alas! All my productions flopped driving me to near penury. But I did introduce Aparna Sen as a director with 36 Chowringhee Lane since I saw sparks in her script, and what a brilliant film it was.”<br /><br />Kapoor’s only directorial venture, Ajooba, a costume fantasy, didn’t do well either. He admits, “After Ajooba I understood that I had had my innings and should call it a day. So after In Custody I retired with dignity from films.” <br />In his golden jubilee year, Kapoor pays compliments to colleagues Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar, and remembers with respect his first heroine, Nanda. “She was an inborn actor and the most cooperative actress when it came to newcomers. In my biggest hit, Jab Jab Phool Khile, I acted along with her. She excelled both in Indian and occidental characters, and even Sridevi copied her blatantly in her films. Watch the song sequence ‘Yeh Shama’ from Jab Jab Phool Khile and you will understand that I am not wrong.”<br /></p>
