Tribute to Sashi Kapoor

My tribute to Sashi Kapoor on his Birthday, which is March 18. If alive, he would be 88 today. Hailing from Bollywood's legendary Kapoor family, he was an outstanding actor, a handsome gentleman known for his good behavior and benevolence. He was a rare breed apart from his normally arrogance and haughtiness displaying counterparts from Bollywood. As mentioned in an Interview by the actor himself, Sashi Kapoor was the unwanted child whom his mother, the wife of actor Prithviraj Kapoor, who wanted to abort him by falling off from bicycle and other crude means when she was carrying Sashi Kapoor. But he came out to the world anyway, and for a good reason to carve him niche in the celluloid world.

One of dad's Maternal Uncles lived in Bombay from 1950s till mid 1980s, earning his livelihood as a make up artist in Bollywood. When he came home after a long, tiring train journey from Bombay, he used to take a break at our residence in Bhubaneswar before proceeding to his native place Biragobindpur, a Shasan Brahmin dominated village near Puri, the maternal uncle's village of my father. As a youngster always curious about to know about the lives of the movie stars, I used to query our "Mamu Aja" (maternal great grandfather) to extract some juicy, spicy tidbits on these film folks from someone who worked in close proximity with Bollywood actors and actresses.

Once I asked him who he thought as the best person in Bollywood he had ever encountered. He immediately answered without a blink - Amjad Khan and Sashi Kapoor. Amjad Khan was a straight shooter who showed no sign of any air of arrogance and idiosyncratic, traits usually associated with actors. Protrayed as a bad guy in many Bollywood blockbusters, Amjad Khan was a different person off screen, a "Dil Daar" broad hearted type. Sashi Kapoor was a perfect gentleman who always asked my "Mamu Aja", his make up artist, about how he and his family were doing back home in his village near Puri. A generous man, Sashi Kapoor gave him hefty tips. Never ever he would belittle or show any kind of  condescending attitude to a his staff, an ubiquitous forte of our film folks who harbor supercilious, feudal mindset.

During shootings, before taking his seat for his make up sessions, Sashi Kapoor would invariably address Mamu Aja with "Aap" rather than "Tum" - "Kaise hain Aap" (how are you) blended in his infectious smile. Unlike others who would seat silently during their make up sessions, Sashi Kapoor would chit chat with him. He was curious about "Oodissa", a state he was barely familiar with, often wondering if a decent "Oodiya" film industry existed. The actor was oblivious about Bhubaneswar. The only thing he knew about Odisha was Puri because Kapoor family were aware of Lord Jagannath and he was happy to relate with Mamu Aja about the temple town being the abode of Sri Jagannath Jee. The young teen in me was surprised that Sashi Kapoor was barely knew of Bhubaneswar, as like the proverbial "KUPA MANDUKA" or the frog inside the well, I was under the impression that Bhubaneswar was the center of universe at that time. Every one loved Sashi Kapoor at the set. As a youngster I would listen to my Mamu Aja's narration in one breath with rapt attention, still printed and engraved in my memory.

Sashi Kapoor's gentlemanly manner was later corroborated by Simmi Grewal, his co-actress in the Award winning movie SIDDHARTHA based upon Herman Hesse's epic novel bearing the same name. After Sashi Kapoor's death she wrote an eulogy on him where she mentioned about the following episode.

The were in New York city in the Bell Bottom era of early 1970s related to International Award won in the movie SIDDHARTHA based on Herman Hesse's famous novel in which both had acted together. They were sitting in a Manhattan restaurant when came down a bunch of girls swooning over Sashi Kapoor - "Hey look at this cool, cute Italian guy", mistaking an impeccably dressed, smiling handsome dude with dark hair having fair complexion with a gentlemanly smirk (New York city is a haven of folks from Italian origin). Sashi Kapoor, a happily married man, a person of high integrity was hardly perturbed with the female adulation he got and chose to ignore them.

He was different from the Kapoor clan in many ways - look, class and charisma. A rebel of sort, always considered as the unwanted Kapoor as his mother wanted to abort him, Sashi Kapoor marked his presence in the tinsel world after his initial movies didn't run well in the Box Office. But after hitting the jackpot after the runaway success of movies "Waqt" and "Jab Jab Phool Khile" he never looked back. Unlike Raj Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor he was not a chubby faced chocolate hero. He had class, style and a contagious smile.

Sashi went out of way in conservative Kapoor family to marry Jennifer Kendal, a Firangi (white foreigner) in the year 1958, a first in the Kapoor family and rairest amongst Bollywood movie stars those days. (Karisma Kapoor was another first, the first Kapoor girl to act in Bollywood which was a taboo for the females in Kapoor family). Both Sashi and Jennifer were happily married until her death in 1984. Inspired by his wife, Sashi dabbled in art movies unlike the rest of Kapoor family men. 

No doubt Sashi Kapoor will be remembered in the world of acting and for his generosity. RIP, the gentleman actor. May you keep smiling in heaven.