Shashi Kapoor is no more, but we will remember him through his films and his legacy of Prithvi Theatre.
I was at a book launch and in the middle of the event I received a WhatsApp message that said: Shashi Kapoor no more.
I knew he was in the hospital. I knew he was not doing well. His daughter Sanjana Kapoor had said he was deteriorating, but I was hoping he would fight back and return home. He didn’t.
As I rush out of the venue and wait for my car, I discover it has begun to thunder and it’s raining heavily. There is no reason for this sudden weather change, and I wonder if it is nature’s way of displaying anxiety over Shashiji‘s demise.
It is a dark stormy evening and as I drive home, my mind wanders to the first time I met Kapoor way back in the 70s. I had called him at home to fix an appointment for an interview, and he asked me to come over to Famous Studio the next morning. Still in college and inexperienced, I innocently asked, “Where is that?”
“Open the directory, young lady, and find out for yourself,” was his answer. That was the first lesson I learnt as a journalist. You don’t ask for directions, you figure it out yourself.
He gave me a wonderful interview and I kept meeting him again and again, chronicling his life and career over the years. He was extremely charming and devastatingly good-looking, and female reporters fought with each other to interview him. He was the busiest star in film firmament in the 70s shooting double or triple shifts a day, and he conducted all meetings and interviews in his car, while driving from one studio to another.
Kapoor has unknowingly been a major influence in my grooming as a journalist. There are many lessons I have learnt from him.
Once, due to shortage of rooms at a studio, he was sharing his makeup room with veteran actor Bharat Bhushan. I had an appointment with him, and as soon as I entered his room, I began chatting with him. He was annoyed that I had not greeted Bhushanji and when I whispered that I had not been introduced to him officially, Kapoor flared up, “You don’t know Tansen… you don’t know Baiju Bawra? Why do you presume you need introductions?” He was right, and I apologised. Not satisfied, he dragged me to his set holding my hand and made sure I said Namastey to his producer, director, writer and the camera man. He said it was rude to not acknowledge the unit, and I have remembered that.
He said an actor must always know his lines thoroughly, and he always did. He was as meticulous about his dubbing, and marked his pauses on the dialogue sheet so he did not make a mistake. He was a master at time management as well, and conducted all meetings and interviews while traveling from one studio to another.
I was with him when he would meet with foreign architects to supervise the plans for Prithvi Theatre, at that time an empty space. It was his dream to resurrect his father’s theatre, and his wife Jennifer went all out to make Prithvi Theatre the cultural hub it is today.
When Jennifer was ill, Kapoor put everything on hold to be with his wife and when she died, he went into depression and neglected himself. He put on so much weight that he eventually had to stop working. He was not interested in acting any longer, or in making films.
Fortunately he continued to be attached with Prithvi Theatre, and spent most of his evenings watching a play and later relishing a drink at the café. I always bumped into him every time I visited the theatre, and chatted with him about the old days. Initially he found it all entertaining, but as years went by he turned frail. He appeared more and more disoriented, and seldom talked with anybody.
Come November, Kapoor was always present at the Prithvi Theatre Festival to light the lamp and declare the festival open. Later he would continue the tradition sitting in a wheelchair. The guests were happy just to see him, and it did not matter that he did not recognise them any longer.
Except this November. For the first time since the inception of Prithvi Theatre in the late 70s, Kapoor was not present at the inauguration because he was in hospital. He had been in and out of the hospital so many times recently that all of us thought he would somehow recover and come back once again.
He didn’t, but the show had to go on, and Kunal Kapoor and his children kept the spirit going.
Kapoor is no more, but we will remember him through his films and his legacy of Prithvi Theatre. As long as his children and his grandchildren continue with the tradition their parents believed in, Shashi Kapoor will live with us forever.
Our condolence to Kapoor family.Sashi sir did not much belief to interact with his fans by using social media but his spirit as an actor always seen in his recent movies I liked his role in Rockstar we get to watch Ranbir Kapoor and Sahi sir together was awesome.Sahi sir will remain in his fans heart as long as the Bollywood lives he is their playing role.
RIP Shashi Kapoor.
You mentioned -“There is no reason for this sudden weather change, and I wonder if it is nature’s way of displaying anxiety over Shashiji‘s demise.” Didn’t you know the weather forecast for yesterday? Everyone in Mumbai knew that Ockhi was heading towards Mumbai and Gujrat.