10 Facts About Shashi Kapoor Unknown To The World

1.     Shashi Kapoor was  Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s  second choice for  Anand.The  first choice wasKishore Kumar.  Shashi was finalized . But when the reigning superstar Rajesh Khanna showed  a keen  interest  in the role Shashi was dropped.

2.     The feud with Rajesh Khanna continued when Khanna was almost finalized for Raj Kapoor’s Satyam Shivum Sunderam. But Khanna was  dropped  for no apparent reason and replaced  by Raj Saab’s brother Shashi. Many years later Rajesh Khanna and Shashi came together in Raj Khosla’sPrem Kahani and they barely exchanged  hellos.They also battled over the billing. Shashi won. His name came before Khanna’s in the credit titles.

3.     It was very rare for Shashi to not get along with a co-star. Apart from Rajesh Khanna, he had no problems working with any co-star . At  a time when Mumtaz was a struggling  supporting actress Shashi agreed to co-star with her in Pyar Kiye Jaa. Many decades later when Shashi and Mumtaz worked together in  two of her final films Chor Machaye Shor and Prem Kahani, Shashiwould tease her  about how she was the superstar now.

4.     He was very close to his daughter Sanjna. Not that he was  not close to his two sons Karan and  Kunal. But  after his wife Jennifer’s death, Shashi Kapoor(SK) depended increasingly on Sanjnafor emotional succour.

5.     Made a fab pair with every heroine that he  worked with but his favourite were Nanda and  later Raakhee Gulzar. Nanda, because she was senior superstar when she  sportingly  consented to work with Shashi.And Raakhee because she cooked the forbidden meals  for him when they  shot together.

6.     Shashi and Amitabh Bachchan  did 15 films together. The  first time they came together was  for James Ivory’s Bombay Talkie where Shashi played the lead while Mr B  had a walk-on part.Subsequently Shashi was billed above the Big B in all their films together.

7.     Fanatically devoted to being graceful and dignified  on screen, Shashi cringed recoiled and revolted against  getting into  drag in Prakash Mehra’s Haseena Maan Jayegi . But the director was adamant.So Shashi ended  up doing Tatpunjiyon se na aanhkiyan milana a parody  of his hit song Pardesiyon se na ankhiyan milana  from Jab Jab Phool Khile.

8.     A  fanatical foodie, like  all the Kapoors, Shashi’s diet was strictly controlled by his wife Jennifer.When she  was  not in town he would hastily summon his close friends  for lunch feasts at  his home which included his favourite junglee gosht.

9.     For his role as the grotesque overweight lecher in Utsav Shashi ate ate and ate..his metabolism  never returned  to  normal.

10.  Never  thought  of getting married after his  wife’s death. Jennifer was  till the end, the  only love  of his life.