Pics by Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network
Mumbai, Aug 16: Legendary star Shammi Kapoor's last rites were performed on Monday August 15. Whole of Bollywood is grieving at the loss.
Actor and grandson of Nasir Hussain, Imran Khan has written, "There are any number of things to be learned from Shamsher Raj Kapoor… the original Indian rockstar. The actor. The dancer. He created a style that was all his own, and 50 years down the line, none can touch him in that space. But the lesson I shall take away is from Shammi the man; the witty, happy, intelligent man who knew what was most important in life: his friends and his family."
Director Imtiaz Ali who had been working with the late Shammi Kapoor too was emotional as he spoke about his interactions with the actor on the sets of his forthcoming film 'Rockstar'. He said, "I feel the blessing, the good fortune that all of us had to have met him, to have seen his smile, to have touched his feet and hugged him, to have felt the warmth of his presense that permeated each corner of the set".
A very emotional Amitabh Bachchan wrote in his blog on Sunday night , " 'I want to ride a Rolls Royce', Shammi Kapoor would often say. And when I offered to send him mine to keep and drive at will, he would resist it. 'Let me come out of the hospital then we shall both go for a drive in it", he had excitedly told me but we never could get that ride together".
He added, "He just loved life and all that it threw to him. He never gave in. Strong and full of happy will, even as he struggled in his later years, he would never give the impression how gravely ill he was. He would laugh and joke on his numerous visits to the hospital for his dialysis, joke with the staff in the hospital, pull their leg. He would almost make you feel that he was visiting you in hospital, rather than the other way round.''
Actress Saira Banu too expressed her grief. She said, "This is a terrible loss. Its unbelievable. I met Shammiji few months back in Aamir Khan's nephew's (Imran) wedding. He came on a wheelchair but was full of life. He never seemed ill!He would always have a smile on his face and would tell us to make most of life too. In spite of the illness, he never gave up hope. "
Speaking about the late Shammi Kapoor, actress Sharmila Tagore said, "He had so much courage and so much of energy, which was just wonderful. He was a fun loving person."
Both Saira and Sharmila Tagore had done their debuts in Hindi cinema with Shammi Kapoor.
Deepika Padukone, who had been seeing Shammi Kapoor's grand-nephew at a time said, “He was an inspiration not just for his style and the films he did, but also for his attitude towards life. I will miss him.”
Hema Malini, who starred with Kapoor in Andaaz said, “He was a live wire on and off the sets and was enthusiastic about his work and very dedicated to giving his best. His power-packed performances touched people’s hearts and his high levels of energy were not limited to acting. His presence anywhere drew attention".
Apart from the family, many Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Prakash Jha, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ketan Desai, Satish Kaushik, Subhash Ghai, Jug Mundhra, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Yash Chopra, Nikhil Advani and Sudhir Mishra also came to the cremation ground. Danny Denzongpa, Ranjeet, Fardeen Khan, Vinod Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor, Tom Alter, Shatrughan Sinha, Tinu Anand and Kabir Bedi were also there. Among the actress who came for the funeral were Priyanka Chopra and Madhuri Dixit.