Sharmila Tagore On Shashi Kapoor: “He Was  The Most Handsome Man I Had Ever Seen”

“I don’t think I enjoyed working with  any co-star as much as I  did with Shashi Kapoor…His death has still not sunk in.Even as I’ve been busy with various things during the past few days, my mind has been going back to all the wonderful times I shared with Shashi. While I shared  only a professional rapport with  my other co-stars with Shashi I also socialized. We  did meet over dinner and drinks. And it was always a pleasure to meet Shashi and his  really wonderful wife Jennifer .They complemented each other perfectly.Seeing Shashi and Jennifer  together was so gratifying. I don’t think Shashi ever got over her death.  It broke him and turned him reckless about his life. He became suicidal. It was sad  to see him let himself go …I still remember how  handsome he was. My God! He was  the most handsome man I had seen.When I met him  for the  first time, it was when  he  visited the location of my first Hindi film Kashmir Ki Kali. We were shooting the song Isharon isharon mein with Shashi’s brother Shammi. I couldn’t concentrate on my  romantic poses with Shammi. The director Shakti Samanta had to ask Shashi to leave. The funny thing was,before I could confess I  was a fan  Shashi started telling me he was fan of my work, having seen me inSatyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar. That charm completely won women over. Over  the years we became  close friends.We got a  lot of opportunity to work and spend time together as  most of our films were shot outside Mumbai over a lengthy period of time.I remember we were all together for My Love in Nairobi. Likewise my other films with Shashi which were shot in places as far-flung as Rajasthan and Canada(Door Desh was shot in Canada).I remember we were shooting Paap Aur Punya  in Rajasthan  . Shashi’s children and my son Saif were all there.Saif who very small ,became very fond of his Shashi Uncle. In a sequence where Shashiwas being hung by a noose by the villain Saif unknown to the camera and crew toddled up to the villain and bit him for  hurting his favourite Shashi Uncle. I  guess Shashi’s charms worked with the  young and old alike.We did a lot of films together, some of them like New Delhi Times, Aamne Samne and Aa Gale  Lag Jaa  were good,some really awful. Not too many of them worked at  the  boxoffice. Which is a pity. Because among all my co-stars it’sShashi I enjoyed working with the most.”