Happy birthday to Shammi Kapoor.
Shammi Kapoor has got his birthday today, 21st of October. Born in 1931, the rebel star had crossed 77 years of age and entertained the viewers with his remote style of acting over many decades. He was probably the first star of bollywood films who had revolutionized dancing.
After showing his skills in films like Tumsa Nahi Dekha and Dil Deke Dekho, he stormed bollywood films with aggressive performance in the film Junglee in 1961. All the songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Rafi including “meri yaar shabba khair”, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “yahoo”, became super hits. The photography of snow-filled Kashmir stunned the audience in the early 60s. It was followed by stylish performance in the film Janwar, where SJ’s composition for Rafi like “lal chari”, “tume accha kaun hai” again stormed bollywood. Rajashree ably supported Shammi Kapoor in the film.
Shakti Samanta gave two big breaks to Shammi Kapoor in Kashmir Ki Kali and An Evening in Paris, both opposite Sharmila Tagore. Both were superhits. The composition of OP Nayyar for Rafi like “yeh chand sa roshan chehra”, “diwana hu badal”, “kisi na kisi se”, and the composition of SJ for Rafi “aasman se aya farishta”, “akele akele”, “raat ke humsafar” blasted the viewers. The coloured films had added attraction with exotic locations of Paris and scenes from Niagra Falls in US and Canada.
Shammi Kapoor continue his dream run with films like Raj Kumar and Prince opposite Sadhna and Vaijayantimala. The songs of Rafi composed by SJ again created magic including songs like “mai hoon rajkumar”, “tumne pukara aur”, “badan pe sitare lapete hue” etc. Shammi Kapoor was sublime in his performance in the role of Brahmchari and received filmfare award for the best actor for the performance in 1967. All the songs composed by SJ and sung by Rafi again mesmerized the viewers including songs like “dil ke jharoke me”, “mai gayun tum so jayo”, “chakke pe chakka”, etc.
Shammi Kapoor even performed in crime thrillers like Teesri Manzil opposite Asha Parekh and there too showed his class of performance. After putting on weight in the film Andaz opposite Hema Malini, he switched to character acting in the film Zameer. His performance in Rishi Kapoor’s film Prem Rog, Dilip Kumar’s Bidhaata, Sunny Deol’s Betaab showed the fact he belonged to royal family of acting and he was an equally qualified character artist.
Although he did not rule the bollywood industry like Amitabh Bacchan he became a trend setter in the 60s which was followed by other actors like Joy Mukherjee and Biswajeet. Viewers expect him to have a long life and contribute in more bollywood films in future.
3 comments:
Shammi Kapoor addressed fashion statement in the 60s, he wore dresses that was westernised in nature and showed his walking style and dancing mudras which reminded people about Rock Hudson and Elvis. Shankar Jaikishan's music and Rafi's songs in most of the films of Shammi Kapoor just made the audience stand on their feet and dance in the cinema halls itself. He really was a trend-setter which was followed by Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee.
Supriya Chatterji.
Shammi Kapoor had very strong acting potential. That was the reason when he added weight and kept beard in the 70s and 80s his powerful performance in character roles glorified many films. His performances in films like Zameer, Parvarish, Betaab, Premrog, Bidhaata, etc., were appreciated and critically acclaimed too.
Souvik Chatterji.
Dancers of modern bollywood films are indebted to Shammi Kapoor for popularizing dance in the 60s. None of the actors before him could revolutionize dancing. He created an Indian market of rock and roll dance sequences in films like Prince, Raj Kumar, An Evening in Paris, Brahmchari, which were very popular in the 60s in hollywood films due to efforts of Elvis and Rock Hudson.
Souvik Chatterji.
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