In the 1981 classic Silsila one of the most famous dialogues delivered by Shashi Kapoor ‘ Hum gayab hone waalo mein se nahi hai… jahan jahan se guzarte hain jalwe dikhate hain’ resonates in our minds as we bid farewell to one of Hindi cinema’s most legendary actors.
Kavya Thomas| The New Leam
Shashi Kapoor sudden demise has taken the entire country by shock. Yes, he was suffering from kidney related problems for many years now and was also going dialysis but the news of his death has created an ambiance of immense grief and sadness among the millions who loved his work. He was an actor and producer and worked in many notable Hindi and English films.
Shashi Kapoor had belonged to the famous Kapoor dynasty of the Hindi film industry which had given many renowned actors. He was the third and the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor. In 2011, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for his contributions to Art- cinema. He also received the Dada Saheb Phalke Award ( the highest award in Indian cinema) for the wide range of contributions.
He passed away on the 4th of December due to prolonged illness at Kokilaben Hospital, Mumbai. Some of his most successful films include Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Deewar, Kaala Patthar, Suhaag, Shaan, Bombay Talkes and Siddhartha among many others.
His marriage to a British woman named Jennifer Kendal, his long standing experience in theatre, and above all his love for cinema of all kinds led him to explore many unconvential paths in his life. One the one hand he acted in typical Hindi melodramas, but on a parallel track, he produced a clutch of very and alternative different films, from 1978 to 1984: Junoon, Kalyug, 36 Chowringhee Lane, Vijeta, Utsav. None of these films made him any money (in fact, it was said that he lost a bundle on his productions), but these films gave him the creative satisfaction he had always longed for in his career and life.
With Shashi Kapoor’s passing, we’ve lost another of our cinema greatest contributors. His nuanced acting ability came about often so lightly that you often overlooked his skills. It would not be wrong to say that the death of Shashi Kapoor marks a time of ultimate grief and loss not just in the Hindi film industry but in the minds and hearts of all those who grew up watching his films and admiring his work.
