Asha Parekh Remembers Shashi Kapoor

“What a lovely thoughtful courteous and kind person.Shashi Kapoor was a thorough gentleman. Not just me, he looked after all his heroines so beautifully. I think I did four films with him. Out of these , two films Nasir Husain’s Pyar Ka Mausam and Mohan Sehgal’s Kanyadan are remembered to this day…I remember during the shooting of Kanyadan in Kulu, I strayed into the wilderness with some of the crew. Shashiji came looking for us. He was so upset that we had wandered away. ‘Anything could’ve happened because there are bear roaming in the area,’ he said.

I’ve seldom come across a more caring and chivalrous hero. I had the privilege of working with both Shammi and Shashi Kapoor. They both were unique , so different from one another.And they bothhad a great sense of rhythm. I remember his absolutely out-of-this-world sense of rhythm in the song Ni sultana re pyar ka mausam aaya ….Girls just swooned when Shashiji danced .And he had the most amazing marriage. His wife Jennifer Kapoor was just the most perfect wife I had ever seen.She looked after her husband and after all of us when we were shooting together.

I think Shashiji lost his will to look after himself after his wife passed away. It was sad to see him suffer so much in his final years. He was on dialysis , just like his brother Shammiji before him.I had gone to see him in hospital a few years ago with my friends Waheeda Rehman and Nanda. The last time I met him was when he got the Dada Phalke Sahib award. He had become so frail . To see my hero who out-danced me in Pyar Ka Mausam on a wheelchair was heartbreaking. Shashi Kapoor was the last of my heroes. Now they are all gone.”