Shammi Kapoor

Shammi Kapoor

The on screen lives of most the 50s heroes was one long agony of self-repression till Shammi Kapoor struck like lightning with his brash, cocky swagger and his eagerness to rebuke convention.

His rebel yell, ‘Yahoo’ is not a word that will be found in any dictionary; but with this one word, Shammi Kapoor announced the transition of the Hindi film hero from yesterday’s loser, Devdas, to today’s Sikander, a winner.

The middle son of Prithviraj Kapoor and the younger brother of Raj Kapoor, Shammi’s entry into films in 1953 was not propitious though he worked with major heroines like Madhubala (Rail Ka Dibba), Suraiya (Shama Parwana) and Nalini Jaywant (Hum Sab Chor Hain). His first 18 films as a hero were marked by a single characteristic — they were all major flops. The long-haired, soulfully romantic image was obviously not working and being already married (to Geeta Bali) and a father, Shammi needed to find success fast. So, mixing Elvis Presley and James Dean in equal proportions, he had his hair cut in the famous ducktail style of the 50s and reinvented himself with Tumsa Nahin Dekha. “I was sitting with friends deciding on how best to present myself,” Shammi reveals,” when Bunny Ruben came up with the title —The Rebel Star! Rebelling against the reigning trio — Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand!”

And sure enough, the label adhered. Shammi had correctly assessed the mood of the times and after Dil Deke Dekho’s thumping affirmation came the conclusive success of Junglee (’61). Even today Shammi Kapoor’s knees hurt because he bruised himself severely as he came rolling down a snow bank in Junglee, the hills reverberating with his ‘yahoo’. An entire decade reeled under its colourful impact. The snow, songs and Simla sagas ruled over the 60′s.

Shammi’s songs were, of course, in step with the swinging 60′s. A large part of Shammi’s appeal was primarily due to the immensely catchy and upbeat numbers like `Suku Suku’, ‘O haseena zulfonwali’ and `Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche’. His predecessor, Dev Anand too had many a breezy number but significantly, while Dev’s songs were gentlemanly, Shammi projected boisterous sensuality. His paroxysmic dance movements to an `Aaja aaja main hoon pyar tera’ had the girls irrevocably drawn into his fascinating magnetic field.

Unfortunately, his films like Kashmir Ki Kali, Rajkumar, Jaanwar and An Evening In Paris, though successful, were largely light weight tales about the skirmishes of the sexes. The critics dismissed him as less of an actor and more of a purveyor of monkey tricks who inspired  titles like Junglee, Janwar; Budtameez, Bluff Master and Pagla Kahin Ka and so on. But with his highly charged performance as the suspect in Teesri Manzil, and his sensitive underplaying as the child-loving bachelor of Brahmachari, Shammi flexed his emotive muscles and surprised his skeptics.

The nattily dressed nabob of the box office, Shammi had 100 suits, 120 shirts, 50 sweaters and innumerable affairs. After his beloved wife, Geeta Bali’s death, Shammi tried to overcome the wounds on his psyche through sensuality. His liaisons were many as he swung from one solipsistic sensation to another. Stability re-entered his life when he married Neela Devi, the daughter of the Maharaja of Bhavnagar. This incredible lady stood beside him when his films started flopping. His burgeoning weight necessitated his quitting films despite the success of Andaaz (’71), and he increasingly veered towards spiritualism.

Today, Shammi Kapoor is a computer aficionado, resting on the fruits of his histrionic labours. But even now, video parlours vouch his films as the easiest to rent. His fame endures as a typical 60s artifact.

Actors & Actresses