Shammi Kapoor: Renaissance man, retired actor, computer buff

Tall, green-eyed and effervescent Shamsher Raj Kapoor carved a niche for himself in Hindi cinema as Shammi Kapoor. But long before he mesmerised an entire generation with his histrionics on screen, he was the quintessential struggler.

Often credited with being the first dancing star of Bollywood, Shammi had been living in the shadow of his iconic father, Prithviraj Kapoor, and showman brother, Raj Kapoor.

He started off as a junior artiste in 1948 and went on to play leading man in films such as Jeevan Jyoti, Chor Bazar, Shama Parvana and Miss Coca Cola.

When success eluded him, Shammi changed his hairdo, shaved off his moustache and worked out his own style of acting and exaggerated body language. The 1957 superhit Tumsa Nahin Dekha was a turning point for Kapoor who went on to become a heartthrob of the 1960s and 1970s.

Films such as An Evening in Paris, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, Janwar, Junglee and Teesri Manzil sent the box office cash registers ringing and then there was no looking back.

He married actress Geeta Bali in a secret ceremony at a temple, fearing parental opposition. Tragedy struck when she died of smallpox after  10 years. He later married Neila Devi.

Though he went on to play character roles in his later years, Shammi remained in the forefront when it came to technology. He is among the first Indians to get an internet connection in the early 1990s.

In an earlier interview, he recalled how some people thought that he was the owner of email service provider Yahoo! since the word had been made popular in the song from Junglee. He was also one of the first Bollywoodwallahs to open a Twitter account. He described himself on his Twitter account profile as a “Renaissance man, retired actor, computer buff”.

Director Imtiaz Ali's forthcoming film Rockstar has Shammi sharing screen space with grandson Ranbir Kapoor. “Shammiji is irreplaceable. I am fortunate to have worked with him,” Ali said.

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who planned to make a documentary with the legendary actor, said: “I had not imagined that he will leave us so soon.”