Table of Biography
Shammi Kapoor was an Indian film director and actor. Shammi Kapoor was also a popular prominent lead actor in Hindi cinema from the mid-1950s till the early 1970s. Likewise, he was popular as the ‘Elvis Presley of India’.
Early Childhood
Shammi Kapoor whose name was Shamsher Raj Kapoor was born on 21st October 1931. His zodiac sign was Libra.
Likewise, Shammi Kapoor was born in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India which is currently Mumbai, Maharastra, India. Similarly, talking about his ethnicity and religion, he was born in an Indian ethnic family following the Sikh religion.
Likewise, Shammi was born in a prestigious family in India and has a family history of working in the Indian movie industry.
Similarly, he was born too late to Indian actor film producer, film director, writer, and politician Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsharni Kapoor. Likewise, he was the middle child of his parents.
Shammi had one elder brother Raj Kapoor and one younger brother Shashi Kapoor. Both were successful Hindi film actors. Likewise, about his cousins, he has one cousin Jugal Kishore Mehra whose granddaughter is Salma Agha. She is a Pakistani actress and singer.
Caption: Family picture of Shammi. Source: Times of India
Even though Shammi was born in Mumbai, he spent his childhood in Kolkata as his father was acting in films and was involved with New Theatres Studios. Likewise, he did his early schooling in Kolkata.
Later he returned to Bombay where he went to St. Joseph Convent in Wadala and to Don Bosco School. Likewise, he did his matric schooling at New Era School on Hughes Road. Likewise, he also went to Ramnarain Ruia College.
Shammi Kapoor – Death
Due to chronic kidney failure, Shammi Kapoor was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital on the year 7th August 2011 in Mumbai.
Unfortunately, due to his serious condition and need for ventilation support, Shammi died on 14th August 2011 due to chronic kidney failure at the age of 79.
The entire Kapoor family including other Bollywood personalities were present to attend his final rites. Moreover, to honor him, a brass statue of him was unveiled at the Walk of the Stars at the Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai.
Personal Life
Regarding his personal life and relationship, Shammi Kapoor met Geeta Bali in the year 1955.
They both while they were shooting for the movie Rangeen Raaten in which Kapoor was the main lead and Bali had a cameo. Four months later after working together, they both tied knots near Malabar Hill in Mumbai.
Together they had one son and one daughter Aditya Raj Kapoor and Kanchan. Unfortunately, Geeti Bali died due to smallpox in the year 1965.
Later he tied the knot with Neila Devi who was from the former royal family of Bhavnagar in Gujarat. Besides this, there were rumors of him having affairs with some Indian actresses of his time.
Early Career
During his college days, Shammi began working on Prithvi Theatres which is his father’s theatrical company. Likewise, he began his cinema career in the year 1948 as a junior artist with a salary of Rs. 50 per month.
He worked in Prithvi Theatres for four years and later collected his last paycheck in 1952 of Rs. 300. Likewise, Shammi made his debut in Hindi film in the year 1952 from the movie Jeewan Jyoti along with Shashikala and Leela Mishra.
Even though his initial movie career was unsuccessful in the early 1950s, he later began playing second fiddle in woman-oriented movies.
His initial movies included Madhubala in films including ‘Rail ka Dibba’ and ‘Naqab’, Shyama in ‘Thokar’, Nutan in ‘Laila Majnu’, Suraiya in comedy flick ‘Mem Sahib’, with Meena Kumari in thrillers like ‘Chor Bazar’, tragic love story ‘Mirza Sahiban’ along with Shyama.
Caption: Young Shammi Kapoor. Source: Bollywood direct
Professional Career
Likewise, he has also played in many blockbuster movies including ‘Junglee’, ‘College Girl’, ‘Basant’, ‘Singapore’, ‘Boy Friend’, ‘Rajkumar’, ‘Professor’, ‘Dil Tera Diwana’, ‘Vallah Kya Baat Hai’, ‘Pyar Kiya to Darna kya’, ‘China Town’.
Likewise, his other movies are ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’, ‘Bluff Master’, ‘Janwar’, and ‘Teesri Manzil’. Moreover, he was paired up with many Indian popular actresses including Asha Parekh, Saira Banu, Sharmila Tagore, and Sadhana.
Moreover, he has also received many notable awards and recognition for his career in movies. On the year 1968, he received the Filmfare Best Actor Award for the movie ‘Brahmachari’.
Similarly, he got the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award on the year 1982 for the movie ‘Vidhata’. Likewise, on the year 1995, he received the ‘Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award’.
Similarly, for his invaluable contribution to Indian Cinema, he got the ‘Invaluable Contribution to Indian Cinema’ award from IIFA in the year 2002. Likewise, he received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from Bollywood Movie Awards in the year 2005.
Likewise, Shammi Kapoor was also the chairman and founder of the Internet Users Community of India. He played a major role in setting up Internet organizations including the Ethical Hackers Association. Similarly, he also had a website dedicated only to the Kapoor family.