Late Shammi Kapoor, one of the shining stars of the film world, may not be among us today, but the impact he left through his work remains. Born on October 21, 1931, Shammi Kapoor's real name was Shamsher Raj Kapoor. Shammi Kapoor, to this date, is considered one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, Shammi Kapoor worked in more than 100 films. Born to actor Prithviraj Kapoor and a member of the Kapoor family, he made his film debut with the commercially unsuccessful Jeewan Jyoti (1953). He was the brother of Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, both superstars of the film industry.
While Shammi Kapoor garnered a lot of love and attention from fans for his films and quality of work, he also remained in the headlines for his love life and marriages. Shammi Kapoor found love twice and got married two times too. He once also proposed marriage to Bollywood actress Mumtaz but she refused.
Shammi Kapoor met Geeta Bali in 1955. They fell in love while shooting for Rangeen Raaten, a film in which Geeta Bali played a cameo. The couple, four months after that, got married at Banganga Temple, near Mumbai's Malabar Hill. They had two children Aditya Raj Kapoor and Kanchan Kapoor. Sadly, at the age of 35, Geeta Bali died due to smallpox.
However, Shammi Kapoor found love again after 4 years and married Neila Devi Gohil, a princess of the Gohil dynasty of Bhavnagar State.
Shammi Kapoor had once also proposed marriage to Mumtaz. In an interview in 2011, the actress revealed how Shammi Kapoor and she had grown close while shooting for Brahmachari. Shammi Kapoor was in love with Mumtaz and also proposed marriage to her, but, Mumtaz stated that she politely refused to marry him as Shammi Kapoor wanted her to give up her career. The Kapoor family, at the time, was against married women of their family working in the film industry.
In another interview, Mumtaz revealed that she had met Shammi Kapoor at a party, just a few months before his death. When she saw him drinking wine and inquired about the same, Shammi Kapoor reportedly told her that he had only a few months to live.
Shammi Kapoor died on August 14, 2011, of chronic kidney failure, aged 79.
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