There are two sides to Shashi Kapoor, on one hand they seem incongruous but they are intertwined and inseparable. He is the one eyed jack in the deck of cards of Hindi film. On the face side Shashi Kapoor is the romantic lead of countless Bollywood fluff entertainers of the 60s and 70s where he often played the flippant and carefree playboy after all the girls. On the other side Shashi was a serious theatrical producer and entrepreneur who financed and produced Hindi plays and movies that were focused towards the intellectual stimulation of the Indian community.

One was the means to the other. Rooted and trained as a stage actor in his father Prithviraj Kapoor's, Prithi Theater, Shashi saw film acting as a means to support himself financially and back his endeavors toward first love the (less lucrative) theater. Shashi was despite his famous last name, a struggling actor at the beginning of his career in Bollywood. He had to test for all his parts along with the rest of the acting stable that included names like, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, and Dharmendra.

 

When Shashi finally hit it big in Bollywood he knew the transient nature of stardom and consequently milked it for everything it was worth. He took any and every Bollywood entertainer regardless of their merit that came his way sometimes acting in as many as six to eight films at the same time. The money he earned went to support his family and was also funneled into theatrical and film production of India's 'Parallel Cinema'.

In Bollywood Shashi Kapoor is best remembered as the super suave and handsome hero. He has acted in many Yash Chopra directed films including the classics, "Waqt", "Deewaar", "Trishul", "Silsila" and "Kabbi Kabbie". He also is considered the most recognized 'cross over' actor in India and has acted in a number of British and American films, most notably "Siddhartha".

Today Shashi Kapoor carries on the legacy of the Kapoor family as the overseer of the Prithi Theater the company started by his father.

Shashi Kapoor Photo Galleries 1 - From "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" [1978] 2- from "Sharmilee" [1971] 3 - from "Waqt" [1965]

links:

Dinesh Raheja's rediff.com Shashi Kapoor profile

Brother Shammi's recollections of Shashi

indiaprofile.com Shashi Kapoor profile

filmnashta.tv Shashi Kapoor profile

blockbuster.com Shashi Kapoor profile

Prithvi Theater and Shashi Kapoor