Shashi Kapoor was always the best man, never the groom

Veteran Indian cinema actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor passed away at a Mumbai hospital on Monday. He was 79 years old and suffering from several health issues related to old age. Some sources said that the actor had passed away from a prolonged cirrhosis of the liver. His last rites will be held at the Banganga in Walkeshwar on Tuesday.

Shashi had lived for the better part of his life at Napean Sea Road, South Mumbai and had a clear liking for it. It could well be why Banganga seems an appropriate place for his last rites.

Shashi had received the Padma Bhushan in 2011 for his contribution to cinema, and in 2015, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from then Information & Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley. He was already wheelchair bound then and the function was held at Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre, the centre for performing arts that Shashi had strengthened with his sweat and blood.

This September, when the DNA reporter was dining at his nephew Rishi Kapoor’s home in Bandra, the 64-year-old actor lapsed into moments of deep silence. By way of an explanation for his sudden preoccupied state, he looked up and told us, “Shashi uncle’s health is failing.’’ Our appetites had dissipated after the disturbing news and there was an uneasy silence at the table.

Deep within, one knew that the charming actor who was born Balbir Raj Kapoor on March 18, 1938, was slowly fading away. But for those of us who started our innings in the 80s, Shashi could never really leave us. He left an indelible mark on us with his cinema and his foray into theatre. Today— the two worlds of cinema and theatre will find it difficult to fill that void. “It is my uncle’s single-minded dedication that kept theatre alive in this country,’’ Rishi often declared with pride. He also added that Shashi had taken over the reins of theatre from his father Prithviraj Kapoor and kept the non-profit theatre movement alive.

Ironically, the actor who took pride in keeping himself slim and trim all through the early part of his career, let himself go to seed after the untimely demise of his wife Jennifer Kendall Kapoor in 1984. He was so heartbroken that he lost the will to live for a long time after her death. Those who visited him in the 80s often saw a sadness in his eyes that stayed with him almost till the end.

Even his cinematic choices were ironic. While he earned superstardom because mainstream cinema like Jab Jab Phool Khile,Haseena Man Jayegi, Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Fakira, Deewar, Trishul, he consciously forayed into middle-of-the-road or meaningful cinema like Kalyug, Junoon, New Delhi Times and Utsav. He was a global name long before others and his association with Merchant-Ivory saw him in films like Householder, Shakespeare Wallah and Heat & Dust. And it is courtesy this detour in the journey as an actor, that he has left behind a legacy for generations to come. For the best of us, he was always the Best Man, never the groom