A STRUGGLING BEGINNING, AN EXCITING MIDDLE AND A SAD END

BY ALI PETER JOHN

It was the first time ever that a boy from Kondivita, the village I spent my entire life in was flying by what most people called an aeroplane (the late 70’s). The village was excited. They were all talking about “Mary Aunty’s” (my mother) son flying by an aeroplane. I was treated like a V.I.P, a celebrity. I was feted, parties were held in my honor. My friends never left me for a moment. All the men and boys most of whom had never seen the Santacruz Airport spent their evening imagining what great things lay ahead of me.

They all took time off to see me of the airport. They garlanded me and took me to the airport in a procession and I was overwhelmed by their affection and admiration for me. “Apna ladka hawaii jaahaaz se jaa raha hain. Kitni khushi ki baat hain, aaj Mary Aunty kitni khush hoti agar woh zinda hoti” (my mother had died when I was 14, father when I was 7 and my younger brother when I had just started working in “Screen”.) I had done my M .A all on my own which was also one reason why the people of my village were proud of me. Anyway, I was one of the journalists who was invited to Junagadh to be Shashi Kapoor’s guest, a place where he was shooting for two films, “Hira aur Patthar” being directed by Vijay Bhatt, best known for making “Ram Rajya”, the only film Mahatma Gandhi had seen and “Aahuti” directed by Ashok Bhushan, brother -in -law of my one time favorite actor, Manoj Kumar…..

I was highly disappointed when I saw the air-hostesses standing at the entrance of the plane. I had expected them to be “Swapna Sundaris” and “Hawaii Beauties” but what I saw shocked me. They were nothing like that. These women dressed in sarees were like one of those stern school teachers and some of them were like the auntie’s in my village. The flight was bumpy but I was young and found the ride very exciting even though the sternest of the air- hostesses tied the seat fasteners around my waist. The pilot warned us of the dangers of flying.

There was panic but I was full of excitement till the plane landed at the Junagadh Airport. Our host Shashi Kapoor himself welcomed us. This was the first time I had seen Shashi Kapoor in real life. He was young, handsome and very charming. I was introduced to him by his PRO, he said, “My name is Shashi Kapoor. I hope you will enjoy your stay in Junagadh”. The group was taken to a hotel where Shashi Kapoor and his men had made all the arrangements for our hospitality. It was the first time I was given a room to myself in a hotel and I felt like royalty.

We visited Shashi Kapoor on the sets of both the films. He was shooting in the morning for “Hira aur Patthar” and afternoon, evening and night for “Aahuti”. Shabana Azmi was his heroine in the first and Parveen Babi of the second. They were a little wary of the press and were even reluctant to talk, especially to those from magazines like “Stardust” and “Cine Blitz”. But, Shashi Kapoor used his charm on them and introduced them to all the members of the press and they agreed to spend some time with us but only talked about their roles in their films and fled as if we were a group of ghosts. Shashi however found as much time as he could with us and kept asking us about our stay and if his people were taking care of us. It was the first time I realized he could be very naughty and what one female journalist called “bitchy” when he made some nasty remarks about someone in the units of both his films. Shashi made arrangements for us to see the Junagadh palace and then make a round of all the temples around.

I returned home to a hero’s welcome. That first flight was the beginning of many more memorable trips and flights all over the country which is where I made friends with most of the big stars and film-makers. Meeting them out of Bombay was like meeting them as human beings. In Bombay they were not the same, they were almost artificial and even fake……

That first encounter with Shashi Kapoor was the beginning of many other encounters with him. The second time was at the inauguration of ‘Prithvi Theatre’ which he and his wife Jennifer, had built as a tribute to Shashi’s father, Prithviraj Kapoor and was the centre to give a new impetus to Hindi theatre which was dying. I was not invited but my guru, K. A Abbas asked me to go with him. I was sitting in the front row not because of who I was but because I was with my guru who was really a great man and was treated like one by Shashi and his wife. I was taken aback when Shashi and his wife came up to Abbas Sahab and Shashi just sat on the ground next to Abbas Sahab and spoke to him with all the respect. He remembered me. “I know you, didn’t you come to Junagadh?

I remember the great time we had”, he said and we were friends after that second meeting. It was very difficult meeting Shashi Kapoor for more than ten minutes during the early days of the eighties. He was shooting seven shifts a day, which meant he was shooting almost round the clock. He was very much in demand. Every big film- maker wanted to sign him and he found it difficult to say no to them. A time came when his own brother, Raj Kapoor signed him to play the leading man in his film, “Satyam Shivam Sundaram.” Shashi always wanted to work with his big brother who he treated like a father and even called him ‘Papaji’. But, in spite of all his respect for his brother and knowing how important it was to get a chance to work with a director like his brother, he could not give him more than a couple of hours in a day because he had to run from one studio to another and his brother called him “a taxi, who could be hired by anyone without him asking where and why.” Shashi felt bad but he couldn’t do anything about it. He was a victim of circumstances.

One day I managed to ask Shashi why he was working so much and what was the need to make so much money and he said, “You know, I am the only Kapoor who has had to struggle my way up. I started as a flop actor and remained unknown till I had a big hit in “Jab Jab Phool Khile”. It was then that I realized how important it was to be working constantly. I again had a number of flops and then I had a big hit in “Chor Machaye Shor” which brought me into the limelight again. This is an industry where you can never be sure about tomorrow. I have a family to support. I have to make money, as much as I can because there is no one who comes to your help when you flop. I cannot help what I am doing. I know I am Shashi Kapoor only till I am wanted as an actor. That is the bitter truth and I follow it because of the bad experiences I had”.

Shashi’s long affair with success continued till he had made enough money to launch his own banner, Filmwalas to make films with a difference, new wave films as they were called then. Jennifer was his source of inspiration. He made his first film under his banner, Filmwalas with Jennifer in the main role. The film, “36 Chowringhee Lane” was directed by Aparna Sen. It won all the appreciation and Shashi was welcomed as the saviour of better Cinema and he took his new image seriously. He produced films like “Junoon”, “Kalyug”, “Vijeyta” and the most ambitious film he made, “Utsav” with Rekha dressed only in pure gold all over. The film was a major disaster and Shashi was in serious financial trouble. To add to his misery, Jennifer who was his pillar of strength was a victim of cancer. All attempts to save her failed and she died leaving Shashi and all the dreams they had dreamt together shattered. Shashi himself lost all control over himself.

He neglected his health. It was Jennifer who kept him on a strict diet and made him do regular exercises and looked after his home and his children, Kunal, Karan and Sanjana. Shashi broke all her rules and put on double the weight and a time came when he drank Vodka all through the day and was not interested in doing anything. Many told him he was killing himself and he said it did not matter.

He finally decided to come out of the hell he had created for himself and planned “Ajooba”, a major commercial Hindi film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and many other stars. The film was directed by Shashi himself and was shot entirely in Russia. The film when released was another major flop and Shashi went mad. It was during one of these mad moments when he was walking on the road opposite Atlas Apartments that he suddenly fell into an open manhole and broke several bones in his body and spent several months at the Breach Candy Hospital.

He grew so very fat because of all the Vodka and in addition the steroids he had to take to prevent his injuries from turning into gangrene, he could not move from his house. He found it difficult to find any kind of role. He spent most of his time drinking, eating, sleeping and leaving and bringing back his grand-children who were studying in a school near his house. It was at this that his brother Raj Kapoor also died and Shashi lost all interest in life. His only consolation was seeing his daughter Sanjana and son Kunal taking charge of ‘Prithvi Theatre’ and leading it from success to more success.

It was at a time when he was going through acute depression that one of his old school day friends Ismail Merchant who had made a name for himself in Hollywood cast him in a film called “In Custody”. Ismail also gave him long holidays in his palace-like house in England. When Shashi really got desperate he sold off his father’s house, ‘Prithvi Jhopda’ to make way for a huge building which was named ‘Prithvi House’. Shashi finally shifted to ‘Prithvi House’ where the builder gave him an entire floor. These days, Shashi is a very sick man, he has turned to less than one- fourth his size, he keeps visiting hospitals for all kinds of treatment and check- ups and spends his evenings having his drinks and looking out of his window at all the exciting happenings at ‘Prithvi Theatre’ with his thoughts full of other days and other times. This is what is called the game of life. You never know when you win and when you loose.

MORE ON SHASHI KAPOOR

- Shashi was inspired by his father Prithviraj Kapoor and his two elder brothers, Raj and Shammi and wanted to be an actor like them

- He made his debut as a child artist when he played the junior Raj Kapoor in “Awaara”

- It was Yash Chopra who was making his beginning as a director with “Dharamputra” for his brother, B R Chopra who gave him his first break as a leading man in the same film. The film flopped and Shashi had to face an uphill struggle. However, Shashi and Yash continued to be the best of friends and years later Yash cast Shashi in meaty roles in his films like “Waqt”, “Deewar”, “Trishul”, “Silsila” and “Kabhi Kabhie”.

- It was only some years later after he started his career that two unknown filmmakers, director Suraj Prakash and producer Hiren Khera signed him to play a Kashmiri simpleton who falls in love with a “Memsahab” in “Jab Jab Phool Khile”. The beautiful locations of Kashmir, Shashi’s sincere performance, Nanda who played the “Sati Savitri” kind of role or the sister playing a glamour role for the first time and some melodious music by Kalyanji and Anandji turned the film into a very big hit and Shashi’s career took the first big leap upwards. Years later; the same film inspired the making of “Raja Hindustani” with Aamir Khan and Karishma Kapoor and was also a very big hit.

Karishma Kapoor

- Shashi was very fond of English theatre. He became a part of the visiting theatre group of the Kendall family who specialized in performing the plays of William Shakespeare. He fell in love with Jennifer Kendall who was a part of the Kendall family and a very good actress.

- They got married in spite of some objections from both the families and Shashi was accepted as a part of the Kendall theatre group. Jennifer managed to be a very good house wife and also encouraged Shashi to be a better actor and her guidance helped. Shashi soon started getting better roles and a time came when Shashi was one of the leading actors

- There was a time when Shashi just shifted from one studio to another and sometime even from one floor to another. There were times when he just changed his shirt for the shot of another film

- Shashi was loved by one and all and was nick-named “Shashi Baba”. He was loved by all his leading ladies and he swept them off their feet with his smile and charm.

- Shashi was once signed to play Lord Krishna in a major mythological film planned by Dr. Ramanand Sagar. The muhurat of the film performed at Natraj Studios was a grand affair. Shashi dressed up as Lord Krishna was the centre of all attraction. The then Home Minister of India who later went on to become the Prime Minister for a short time, Morarji Desai who had a very strong dislike for Hindi films made an exception and attended the launching of the film and praised Sagar for taking up a subject which he said was his favourite subject and he liked how Shashi looked as Lord Krishna. The film however was shelved and Sagar used the same script he had written for the film for the serial he made on Lord Krishna many years later

- Shashi had a duplicate who called himself Shahi Kapoor and was successful in finding a role in one of I S Johar’s films, “Five Riffles” in which he had duplicates of all the leading actors in key roles. This duplicate even found major roles in mythologicals and was a craze at functions and events held in remote corners of the country.

- Shashi had a “tongue laced with acid” as someone said. I once took him as the Chief Guest to a musical night at which the great actress Nutan was the main singer. It was a tough time for me to convince him. He finally agreed. He sat with me in the first row and after every song Nutan sang, he kept saying, “This is very painful” and “I cannot take it anymore” and “Ali, I will kill you for punishing me like this and ruining my evening”.

But, when he went on stage he shocked me and even amused me when he said things like; “Nutanji sings like an angel from heaven”, “I have never heard such a soulful voice, it almost takes me to heaven. If I had another life I would ask God to make me a singer like Nutanji, so that I could win the hearts of millions. Main toh Nutanji ki awaaz pe fida ho gaya, pagal ho gaya hoon, meri toh shaam bahut hi rangeen ho gayi hai aur main Ali Sahab ka shukr guzaar hoon ki usney mujhe itnaa haseen mauka diya, Nutanji ki awaaz sunne ko.” Nutanji blushed and the audience clapped while Shashi rushed through the nearest exit and ran out of the hall with me running after him. We left in his car and all the way home I had to listen to some of the choicest “gaalis” from him but all done very charmingly.

- He was a great admirer of young actresses like Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil but whenever he met them he had a series of questions to ask them. He asked, “Tum log itne gandi kyu rehti ho? Tum log kabhi nahatey ho ke nahi? Tum log kabhi apney bal kyon nahi banate? Tum log kabhi apney kapdey dhote ho ke nahi?” The girls loved his teasing ways. At one time there was also some talk about his having an affair with Shabana, but it died down

- There is this other story about Shashi and Shabana. Shabana had gone on a fast unto death to fight for the rights of the slum dwellers. Her fast outside Mantralaya had entered the sixth day and she was on the front pages of all the newspapers all the time. One evening Shashi found the time to go to meet to her.

He went close to her and whispered in her ears, “Ullu ki patti, yeh sabh kya naya natak hain?” He then asked her what her demands were and promised her to do something about it. He sought an appointment with the Chief Minister, Mr. Vasantdada Patil and had a private meeting with him. The CM promised “to look into the matter”. Shashi came back to Shabana who was surrounded by the media and a huge crowd who were more interested in seeing the stars who came to see Shabana. Shashi told Shabana about the promise made by the CM and there was a smile on her face. She immediately decided to break her fast with a glass of orange juice put into her mouth by her mother, Mrs. Shaukat Kaifi. On his way back, Shashi in one of his naughty moods again said, “Kya zaroorat hain inn ladkiyon ko yeh sabh drama karne ka? Bewakoof hain, inko kaun samjha sakta hain?”

- Shashi was desperate when all the art films he produced flopped one after another and he lost all his money and in yet another naughty mood he just smiled and said, “Yeh daadiwale intellectual dakoo logo ne Shashi Kapoor ko barbaad kar diya. Kya mila inko ek bhole bhale aadmi ko barbaad karke?”

- Amitabh Bachchan was the one man who stood by Shashi in his bad times. He got him signed in several big films he was doing. Strangely, Shashi who was ten years older than Amitabh played his younger brother in most of them. There was a story making the rounds that Amitabh carried an agreement signed in advance by Shashi Kapoor which he just handed over to producers he recommended Shashi to.

- There was the real life story about Amitabh and Shashi. The two were shooting on the eighteen floors of the Sea Rock Hotel when Amitabh suffered a serious attack of Asthama and went running to the window and Shashi ran after him and pulled him back and took him home. It is one incident Shashi can never forget because he believes Amitabh could have even jumped out of the window that afternoon.

- Shashi and his brothers were like “security guards” at the marriage reception of Rishi Kapoor and Neetu at the R K Studios where they beat up many gate crashers and even some from the press. One of them was his own PRO who said, “But, Shashi, I am from the press” and Shashi immediately said, “That is exactly why I am treating you the way I am.” The man looked at him in disbelief.

- Shashi is one of the trustees of the Indian Cancer Societies, a promise he had made to his wife Jennifer when she was dying of cancer

- Shashi has only one major regret in his life. He always wanted to make a film with Dilip Kumar in the lead role. He had a script ready too but time did not give him the chance to fulfill his wish.

YEH KAISA GANDHA KHEL KISMET KA HAIN?

That evening I was at the Prithvi Theatre built by Shashi Kapoor and his wife Jennifer way back in the eighties in their attempt to keep theatre in Bombay alive. It was my regular haunt at one time when some of the biggest names today were knocking at its doors as it was considered an entry ticket to recognition in Bombay. Shashi and Jennifer had done a great favour to so many young and talented people.

That evening I was invited by Nadeera Zaheer Babbar and her daughter Juhi to see their new play, adapted and directed by Juhi (what a way Juhi had grown and matured), a play called “Dauda Dauda Bhaaga Bhaaga”, one invitation I could never miss because I knew that the Babbars always stood for quality.

The first half of the play was very interesting and showed promise of turning into a great comedy, it was time for people to refresh themselves. It was time for the interval, and people rushed to the counter selling hot tea and coffee and some of the best snacks served in Bombay, I did not move and was lost in my own world when I felt like turning my head and looking behind and what I saw was a scary vision in white, a head covered with stark grey hair and a body all bent. I looked back again and to my utter shock I realized it was the great Shashi Kapoor, but how could life be so cruel to a man who was the very symbol of the best in life, a man who was full of life, and even a huge bundle of mischief, how could life turn a man life Shashi Kapoor into a lifeless life like this?

I kept looking at him and I saw people just passing by him without showing any kind of recognition, the few who did just touched him and he kept both his hands folded and could hardly look up and just murmured “thank you, thank you”, it was a very heart-breaking sight, I who had spent several days and some great moments with the man with a large heart found it difficult to believe that this was the same Shashi Kapoor I knew so well.

I mustered up enough courage to go up to him and touched his feet and he reacted like the robot he had become, he just kept saying “thank you, thank you,” I couldn’t take that as an answer from the Shashi Kapoor who was my friend, I went close to his right ear and shouted out my name and he moved, his head made great efforts to look up and he made a strange sound which must have meant so many things but I could not understand a thing, my heart broke again and I went back to my seat.

My heart was not in the play any longer (Sorry, Nadeeraji and Juhi), I kept thinking of the grand and glorious days of Shashi Kapoor the Indian and best known Indian International star, I kept thinking of the handsome young man of “Jab Jab Phool Khile” and “Waqt” and the time when he worked seven shifts a day shooting for seven different films in just one day, a record that should have gone into the Guinness a long time ago.

He was not a very great actor who could be compared to a Dilip Kumar or an Amtabh Bachchan but he was a very charming entertainer and a winner of the hearts of women of all ages

I thought of the time when he with his wife Jennifer thought of giving Hindi Cinema a new lease of life, a time when they launched their own banner, Filmwalas which became the trade mark for some of the best films made in Hindi and which gave actors, directors and technicians a chance to try out different experiments, a major attempt in which Shashi lost all his money and also lost his beloved wife Jennifer after which life was never the same again.

The first signs of his fall came when he fell into a pot-hole outside his house on the pavement on which he was taking his evening walk, he was “screwed up” and in hospital for six long months, he then put on weight which he just couldn’t control, he fell a prey to any number of ailments and what has been happening to one of the most handsome bodies at one time now is something that has baffled the best doctors in the country and even the world, the charming man has lost his memory, he cannot even recognize his own people and the Government of India found no other time than now to honour him with the Padmabhushan and many other organizations want to honour him with all kinds of awards but where were all of them when he knew what they were doing to him, what is the use of honouring him now when he is not a part of this world, it sounds so scary but that is the truth about Shashi Kapoor today.

I don’t know whether it is God or Kismet or Bhagya who takes decisions for men like Shashi Kapoor but whoever it is, I hate them for what decisions they have taken for him.

PRITHVI THEATRE WAS THE ‘TAJ MAHAL' SHASHI KAPOOR BUILT FOR THE LOVE OF HIS WIFE, JENNIFER

-Ali Peter John

It was the early sixties. The Kendall family (Geoffrey,Felicity, Jennifer and others) who had their own theatre group which performed the plays of Shakespeare in different parts of the world, was touring India and were in Bombay. Shashi Kapoor, the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor and the brother of Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor who was very interested in theatre took interest in what the Kendall family was doing but, he was suddenly struck by Cupid when he set his eyes on beauteous Jennifer and decided that he would marry Jennifer, come what may. The two had to face a number of hurdles but, true love triumphed and Jennifer got married. Shashi had still not established himself as a star, but the couple carried on with Jennifer inspiring Shashi to grow into a better actor than he was and it was like Jennifer's wish for Shashi coming true when he had his first and very big hit in “Jab Jab Phool Khile" and life took a new turn for the couple who soon had a massive apartment of their own in Atlas building on Cumballa Hill and had three children Karan, Kunal and Sanjana.

Jennifer in her love for Shashi took complete charge of his career and he was soon one of the leading stars of Hindi cinema. He had his ups and downs and a time came when he was almost without any work....

Jennifer's love for him however kept growing and Shashi fought back with a film called “Chor Machaye Shor" and then never had to look back. A time came when he was shooting six or seven films in a day, sometimes only changing his shirts and running from one studio to other, which made his brother Raj Kapoor call him a ‘taxi'.

Shashi however continued to work at a same pace and make as much money as possible because he was practical in believing that the good times would not last forever...

It was Jennifer again who took charge of his career and all the money that he made. She encouraged him to put the money he made in making what was called art cinema, which was good enough to give him a good name, but which ultimately turned into a losing proposition....

Jennifer's love for theatre was very much alive. She was aware of theatre in India being neglected and there not being enough theatres and auditoriums to stage plays even in a city like Bombay...

She was aware of a piece of land lying vacant in Juhu where Shashi's father had his quaint bungalow which he had named ‘Prithvi Jhopda'.

She kept Shashi inspiring to build a theatre on that piece of land and he gave her all the freedom to build a theatre just as she wanted. Jennifer hired the services of Ved Sagan, one of the leading architects and designers to take charge and create the theatre of her dreams and Shashi's dreams.

It took some time to build a theatre and when it was completed, it was like a theatre never seen in Bombay at least. The design of the theatre was such that the audience of the theatre could view the play being staged from any seat, any row and any corner. It was an entirely the new experience for theatre lovers in Bombay and for theatre lovers and soon all over India and even the world. It was aptly named Prithvi theatre.

The first play to be staged at Prithvi Theatre was IPTA'S “Bakri" directed by M.S Sathyu of “Garam Hawa" fame and there has been no stopping of the shows at Prithvi in every language and in plays of every genre. Prithvi Theatre was called ‘the Mecca of Indian theatre'.

The Theatre had its own share of hiccups. Shashi once came to know that the young actors and technicians were indulging in drugs, the second time he was informed that young actors were using the precincts of the theatre as pick up joints and he threatened to close down the theatre, but it was Jennifer who kept telling him that if their intentions were good, all would be well and it was.

Prithvi also turned out to be a saving grace for leading theatre groups like IPTA, Ekjut and the Motley Group run by Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani and other groups. It was also the place where filmmakers found some of the best actors like Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Om Katare, Satish Kaushik, Priya Tendulkar and hundreds of others during the last 40 years.

It was not all rosy and smooth sailing. Jennifer fell a victim to cancer and died. It was a heart-breaking scene to see the condolence meeting for Jennifer being held on the same stage which she had built under her own personal care and supervision. Shashi seemed to have lost all interest not only in Prithvi Theatre, but also in his own life and career. Luckily, his daughter Sanjana took charge of the theatre and I cannot forget that one scene one afternoon when Shashi and I were sipping vodka on the steps of Prithvi and how she had driven us away for humiliating the theatre and Jennifer's memory...

Years of living a rough life without Jennifer had taken a heavy toll on Shashi's life and kept moving in and out of hospitals, till he finally died before his time. Padma Bhushan Shashi Kapoor was no longer a part of this life and sadly even his condolence meeting was held at Prithvi Theatre with his heavenly garlanded photograph placed on the stage...

Fortunately, his son, Kunal has now taken over the running of the theatre, which is doing extremely well and when I visited the theatre 2 weeks ago, Naseeruddin Shah, his wife Ratna and daughter Heeba were performing their superhit play, “Kismat Aapa Ke Naam". Nothing had changed at Prithvi. The only change I could notice was the canteen which is said to be one of the highlights of Prithvi Theatre and wondered whether it was a good sign or not and whether the tea and snacks served were better than the plays staged.

Whatever it is, Prithvi Theatre will always be ‘the Taj Mahal' Shah Jahan (Shashi Kapoor) built for his Mumtaz (Jennifer Kapoor).