Shammi Kapoor biography & Film career | shammi kapoor photo gallery

Tag : Shammi Kapoor biography & Film career

Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian film actor and director. He was a prominent lead actor in Hindi cinema from the late 1950s until the early 1970s.

Shammi Kapoor was hailed as one of the finest actors that Hindi cinema had ever produced. Extremely versatile as an actor, he was one of the leading stars of Hindi cinema during the late 1950s, the 1960s and early 70's. He debuted in Bollywood in 1953 with the film Jeevan Jyoti, and went on to deliver hits like Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Dil Deke Dekho, Junglee, Dil Tera Diwana, Professor, China Town, Rajkumar, Kashmir Ki Kali, Janwar, Teesri Manzil, An Evening in Paris,

Film career : 


Kapoor started out with serious roles but with Filmistan's Nasir Hussain directed Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957) opposite Ameeta and Dil Deke Dekho (1959) with Asha Parekh, he attained the image of a light-hearted, stylish playboy. Tall, athletic, lively, fair complexioned, green-eyed and with handsome features, Shammi was a heartthrob, and his good looks and physique complemented his image.

 In his early career in fifties, he had often played second fiddle to established heroines like Madhubala in films such as Rail Ka Dibba (1953) and Naqab, "Laila Majnu" with Nutan, "Thokar" with Shyama and "Hum Sab Chor Hain" with Nalini Jaiwant none of them clicked at box office. Of all his heroines, he said that Sharmila Tagore, Rajshree, and Asha Parekh were easy to work with. Sharmila Tagore and Saira Banu made their Bollywood debuts with Shammi Kapoor in ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’ and ‘Junglee’ respectively. 

In the early fifties he accepted serious roles in women oriented films like Shama Parwana (1954), comedy flick Mem Sahib (1956) and thrillers like Chor Bazar (1954), which were all successful at box office and in tragic love story Mirza Sahiban (1957) (a box office flop), but did not gain recognition and fame among the masses. Other than the above hits, he had fifteen films as flops to his credit till 1957. The other hits in late fifties included Mujrim(1958), Char Dil Char Rahen, Raat Ke Raahi (1959). It was only after triple success of Tumsa Nahi Dekha (1957), Ujala and Dil Dil Deke Deko (both 1959), that he became popular with the audience and became a star. In the first half of the 1960s, Kapoor was seen in successful films like College Girl, Basant, Singapore, Boy Friend, Professor, Dil Tera Diwana, Vallah Kya Baat Hai, Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, Bluff Master, Janwar and Rajkumar. Although nominated before, in 1968, he received the first Filmfare Best Actor award of his career for the film Bramhachari.

His pairing opposite Southern heroines were always a success at the box office. He delivered hits opposite B. Saroja Devi like Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya and Preet Na Jane Reet, with Padmini gave Singapore (1960 film), opposite Vyjayanthimala had hits like College Girl and Prince (1969 film). In the sixties his successful run continued untill new romantic incon Rajesh Khanna entered the scene in 1969. However Shammi did have commercial successes in late sixties, like Budtameez and Sachaai with Sadhana, Latt Saheb with Nutan, Tumse Achha Kaun Hai with Babita.

 He also directed Manoranjan (1974), a movie inspired from Irma La Douce and in which he played a supporting role himself and Bundal Baaz (1976) starring Rajesh Khanna, but neither were successful commercially though got critical acclaims and were hailed as classics and to be ahead of its time. In the 1980s and 1990s, he continued to play supporting roles in many films and won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in Vidhaata (1982). He did a social melodrama serial called "Chattan" aired in Zee TV for more than a year in 90's. He eventually cut down on film appearances by the late 1990s and early 2000s and made his appearances in the 1999 Salman Khan and Urmila Matondkar starring Jaanam Samjha Karo, 2002 release Waah! Tera Kya Kehna and delayed 2006 release Sandwich. He made his last appearance in Imtiaz Ali's directorial venture Rockstar co-starring his grand-nephew Ranbir Kapoor, the grandson of his brother Raj Kapoor.

Film director Shakti Samanta directed Shammi Kapoor in six hit films like Singapore, Pagla Kahin Ka, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening In Paris and Jaane Anjane and quoted in an interview “I found Shammi to be a thoroughly good man. Even in his heydays, he was humble."