The Junglee Prince is no more
By Achal Rangaswamy
Shammi Kapoor
Nagesh Sidhanti, my friend from Bangalore, jolted me from my morning reverie with this terse message that had only two lines.
I got up to post my first thoughts on Facebook. And i couldn’t go beyond “Tum mujhe yun bhula na paaogey“.
Thirty one years back, when Rafi Saab passed away, he had mournfully said, “I have lost my voice”. Today it is his turn to go. The voice went away then. Today the man has gone.
Shammi Kapoor leaves this world of cinema and entertainment a lot poorer. Where are we going to find someone who could combine boisterousness and sincere gravity with a lot of emotion and playful childishness with an almost effortlessly gay abandon ?
Where will we find someone who brought rock and roll on the screen in the early sixties and gave us superlative hits one after the other?
Romancing away, dancing away, making people laugh with his antics, and then suddenly becoming serious and taking over a melodramatic situation to believable and credible levels, Shammi Kapoor created a new genre in the days when acting probably meant a big gap with hamming on the one end and being wooden on the other.
Yahoo became the netizen’s buzzword much later. We learnt it long back. Leaning out of a car or a chopper and singing out to a lady love came with great ease to Shammi. He was the master in this craft. I wonder if anybody ever will be able to shake his neck the way he did, legs a lot have learnt to shake.
Shammi Kapoor
The very fact that most advertisements today have songs of his playing in the background symbolizes Shammi Saab’s evergreen stature. Just listen to Nigahon Nigahon mein jaadu chalana meri jaan seekha hai tumney jahan se……and you will know.
Long live Shammi Kapoor. You were the perfect Junglee…the noisy Jaanwar, the evergreen Budtameez, the ever present Bluff Master. But you were also the Prince. The lovable Brahmachari.
Tomorrow, when the country will be celebrating Independence Day, your mortal remains will be consigned to the flames, and you will be singing -“Ganga meri maa ka naam baap ka naam Himalaya, ab tum khud hi faisla kar lo main kis soobey wallah”.
RIP- Sukh sapnon mein kho jaao………tum so jaao
u r a great hero shammi ji i salouit u
dear achal g,
pehle rafi sahib aur now shammi g bhi,
speech less,
no words are there to express my feeling,
laat sahib savere wali gaadi mein hi chala gaya,
aab dil ke jharokhe mein bitha kar yahi kahenge ki tumsa nahin dekha
hum dono ko yunhi bhoola naa paayenge
vinod mehru
09768245368
i had the opportunity to meet mrs ritu nanda at delhi for the grand mohd rafi show hosted by mr g b mathur of escorts on july 30.
again i met ritu ji….(daughter of raj kapoor) two weeks later when we went to pay homage to yahoo shammi kapoor.
mohd rafi regarded ritu ji as his sister and had attended her marriage to industrialist rajan nanda – where mohd rafi had sung on the occassion “baharon phool barsaaao, ritu ka nanda aaaaaayaaaaa hai, ritu kaaaa nanda aaaaayaa hai.
the marriage tape is missing said mr rajan nanda to me in delhi.
yes. wen i met rituji again at shammi ji s house on aug 14th sunday, she and family members were amused to know the similarity in dates 13 and 31. also about the day friday which was the ‘day’ both soulmates unknowingly chose to go to the other world.
thanks haldar ji and walijah saheb for being in tune with the numericals of soulmates – 13 and 31.
Binuji,
Very interesting take on the numbers 13 and 31; I was also thinking along the same lines.
Best wishes,
P. Haldar
Achal Ji,
A very nice tribute to one of the boisterous actors of bollywood. I never missed his films in my childhood, the list is quite long, but I want just mention one movie, “Andaz” which remains in my mind a hallmark movie as it contains so many memories surrounded by. The other movies I love to watch and enjoy his comic relief in movies as well. A very nice actor and a great human being, quite respectable at the same time. He had the distinct style that no one could imitate. An actor with par excellence.
When shammi ji names come into the mind, Rafi Sahab name will automatically rings and so many memorable songs like to generate in memory. The list of songs and movies are very long, as other rafi fans had already mentioned in the old write ups. Rafi Sahab and shammi sahab was undetachable soulmates.
Binu ji really solved the puzzle of 31 and 13, a very interesting post. Thanks Binu ji.
Thanks for your write up Achal ji.
Best regards
H.A.K. Walijah
Achal Rangaswamy ji,
Great write-up. Fitting tribute to Shammi Kapoor, truly wonderful artist, who provided absolutely different and stunning dimension to film songs, added a new dimension to Rafi’s well known versatility. I read somewhere that Rafi saab used to immensely enjoy singing the songs for Shammi Kapoor. In live concerts also there were a reasonable share of Shammi’s songs that Rafi saab used to sing. I have been lucky to attend one live concert of Rafi saab at Delhi in 1979.
Binu ji,
Your notes on 13 and 31 numbers were great. It only goes to show that bonding of Shammi-Rafi was divine.
-J.K. Bhagchandani
Shammi ji and mohd rafi mean hit song,we lost Shammi ji voice 31 years ago but on 14th shammi back to his voice, yahoo star and biggest mohd rafi fan left us….
O,yes ,once more,I forgot to say that King Shammi was the best proof for the indisputable fact that Rafi saheb was the greatest singer,and will be that also forever! Shammi ji. was the only actor who was be able to give expression to everything the Bos Rafi did with his voice. jai .ketwaru
shammisahab wah teri kya baat hai aayein hai dooorse milne huzoorse as v go back n rewind thosemusical days wen no one had d guts 2 give shammi a break it was nasirhussain’s sharp eye which cud c thru d persona dat shammi was n op nayyar’s magnanimity a gesture shammisahab never forgot till d very end dat catapulted shammi into d top slot overnite n gave millions of his fans a yahoo star god bless his soul.
A very poignant and apt tribute to the greatest entertainer of our times. In fact, when compared to Raj Kapoor, his younger brother rose towers above in the field of entertainment. Raj Kapoor was the great showman and could create magic with his movies. But Shammi Kapoor’s mere presence on the silver screen was electrifying enough. Bundle of energy, charm brimming to the seams, flamboyance in every aspect. Shammi Kapoor will live forever in the hearts of millions of movie buffs. His name is instantly associated with Rafi Sahab, for the pair have given us the maximum number of hits on any one film hero. Achalbhai, you have conveyed the feelings of all music lovers in your small article, straight out of your heart.
Pictures of Shammi ji.were a really revolution in Bollywood cinema,and particularly in the Indian culture that time.They were out of rule ,out of moral,because it was not fair to sing and dance.In that time ,my youth ,the songs had such an impact on me that I tried to sing the songs Rafi saab sang for Shammi ji.,and some people called me a scoundrel.And if you look now what the youth are doing,dancing sometimes in very scarcely cloth. Most are childeren of adults who disapproved what we were doing formerly.So Shammiji. and his team: Rafi saheb and music directors like Shankar Jaikishan and O.P Nayar,were trendsetters and revolutionary.Much thanks !Jai.Ketawru
So well written. Loved the way you described exactly what Shammi Kapoor was in the second last para. “perfect Junglee….evergreen budtameez, etc.” Yes, exactly that was his attraction.
No one, no one can be like him. Yet another star from the golden era leaves. There are only a few of them left. Who knows for how long? Can’t imagine how dry this earth will be without them. when they all pass on ….well, it will feel very very empty. All we will have will be the songs, the pictures and the memories. We need to treasure them so much. They are irreplaceable.
Shammi Kapoor…Prince….you will live in our hearts forever….
In in era where Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor were the major players Shammi Kapoor had to reinvent himself which he did successfully!. The voice of Muhammad Rafi greatly helped his career yet it also has to be said that Shammiji bought something new and refreshing for the young audience of the 60’s who were tired of sentimental movies.
Move over Elvis Presley, Shammi Kapoor laced up his dancing boots, removed that earlier moustache and cut his hair to look super cool. Most likely due to him gaining weight his career as leading man was relatively short as he began taking on character roles in movies like “Parvarish”.
Death is no bad thing if it means escaping pain and suffering so let’s celebrate his life instead of crying over his death as we all must depart one day!. Thank you for the entertainment…..
the numericals 31 and 13 has beeen constantly following soul mates Mohd Rafi and Shammi Kapoor…..
Shammi was born 1931. Rafi died on the 31st. Shammi died on the 13th day of ramadan.
mohd rafi and shammi both died on ramadan days – nearest to one another according to muslim/arabic/bohra calenders – seperated by some hours only.
mohd rafi and shammi kapoor both were ready to move on to the other world on a – friday and on ramadan day.
its no doubt that they were indeed soulmates.
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the first musical tribute will be conducted by the rafi foundation titled :
“tarif karun kya inki”… for shammi saaheb.
this was planned a month ago for legends mohd rafi/mukesh/manohari singh. the title wll remain the same.
but we will have shammi saaaheb songs tooo by mohd rafi singers – on sunday, 21 august at mumbais sathaye college hall, vile parle east , dixit road from 5 pm onwards…
rsvp 9833 250 701..
when i was studying in college my hindi teacher was telling
“there is shammi kapoor – a hero of hindi films.if we go to
afghanistan and tell them i am from shammi kapoor’s
country they will not ask for any travelling document.”
that much afghanis like shammiji.
one of my friends from hyderabad was telling he used to go
to see shammiji’s films because he is sure there will be
rafi saab’s song in that film.
long live shammiji and rafi saab.
Since Dil Deekee Dhekoo,my wife and me ,we are both a great fan of Shammi ji.I saw this picture more then 12 times.It was sublime the synthesis between Rafi saab and Shammi ji. Shammi ji. said in a interview that the actor Shammi Kapoor was not quite possible without Rafi saab, everything I ask the sahab to do for me, he tries also to do that for me.We are in receipt of most of his pictures in our collection.Every time when we are looking his picture,I enjoy special the manner of playbacking the songs of Badsha Rafi. The DVD Rafi sings for Shammi Kapoor will be my first picture,when I will be ready again afther two weeks ,dr Jai Ketwaru
rangajee,
you were so touching in your tribute to this great personality who lived acted danced and spoke king size – it would have moved mountains – me with a repaired / rejuevenated heart could just about weep in total agreement with you.
life is full of seperations, we have been loosing all the greats of yester years at a slow and steady pace – and as mortals – all that we can do is silently cry and bear with these losses.
how helpless – we are gurujee, i wonder where people assemble after they leave this mother earth and the mortal remains. ?????
i wonder – if the yahoo has met his voice – up above and starteed it all over again.
i wish we all retro lovers are taken on a temporary visit to where ever they are and come back re-assured that they are fine even without us.
i only hope shammijee and rafi sahab are looking at all of us and waving out with a smile and saying dont lament – we are fine and that our places are reserved for a later date in their kingdom.
i for one would not be able to survive one moment without retro and these legends.
i will protest like ” anna hazare ” and bhagweaan key naak mein damm karkey rakhdoonga.
your write up is highly inspirational and a true fgeeling of all of us.
ramesh narain kurpad
I spoke to Shammi ji two months before and enquired about his health. Shammi ji told me that he undergoes two dilysis in a week and the problem is since last 8 years. When we said that u will be OK, He said Jai Jai and said pray to God. When I told him that I liked his song “Meri Mhabbat Jawan Rahegi, Sada Rahi Hai Sada Rahegi, (Professor), he just laughed and appreciated and said Yes.
We were (family) really shocked to hear the tragic loss and still in distress mental state, as we just spoke to Shammi ji just two months ago.
May his soul Rest in Peace.
KK Chadha
Dear Achalbhai,
A very fitting tribute to the inimitable Shammi Kapoor. You have represented
all my sentiments and more in this touchingly worded write-up.
31 years and 31 days later……destiny has its own symmetry to recall the
legends it seems.
On 14th few of us decided to pay obeisance to Shammi the only way one
could. By ‘Celebrating’ his films, music and jigs.
joi de verve of the industry lost !
( as Amitabh so aptly twitted)
Nagesh
Hi Achal
wow!what a way of expressing your thoughts!!short and sweet, so concise yet so precise!.Believe me, among all the reports and info I read about shammi after his death it is your write up that really struck a chord.romba romba sakkat very good!!!
The junglee has gone but yahooooooo will remain forever.
vasudha
SHOCKING NEWS TO LEARN THE DEMISE OF SUPER PRINCE OF ROCK AND ROLL STAR OF BOLLYWOOD SHAMMIJI,.BOLLYWOOD HAS LOST ONE OF THE GREATEST AND THE BEST ACTOR OF THE SIXTEES ANDBODY WILL EVER BE ABLE TO FILL IN THE GAP SHAMMIJI HAS LEFT IN BOLLYWOOD HISTORY.ACTORS WILL COME AND GO BUT SHAMMIJI STOOD UP TO THE TOUGH COMPETITION ONE HAD TO FACE IN THOSE YESTER YEARS UNTIKE TODAY.SHAMMIJI LUCK WAS CHANGED WHEN RAFISAAB THE GREATEST SINGER OF ALL TIMES BECAME THE GHOST VOICE OF SHAMMIJI. RAFISAAB CHURNED OUT HITS AFTER HITS FOR SHAMMIJI WITH MUSIC DIRECRORS LIKE O.P.NAYYAR AND SHANKER JAITISHAN AND LATER LAXMIKANT PYARELAL. UPONTHE DEATH OF RAFISAAB 31 YEARS AGO SHAMMIJI CRIED LIKE A LITTLE BABY AND SAID I HAVE LOST NY VOICE FOR EVER.SHAMMIJ ALWAYS TURNED UP AT THE RECORDING STUDIO WHILE RAFI SAAB WAS RECORDING SONGS FOR HIS FILMS JUST TO REMIND HIM THAT THE SONGS THAT HE IS RECORDING SHAMMI KAPOOR IS GOING TO DANCE ON THE STAGE.THE LEGENDARY STAR PRITHVIRAJJI WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCESSFUL STAR TO GIVE BOLLYWOOD CENEMA 3 SONS WHO RULED BOLLYWOOD IN THE FIFTIES TO SEVENTIES AND AND THE KAPOOR KHANDAN ARE STILL RUNNING THE SHOW WITH KARRENA KAPOOR AT THE TOP IN TODAYS MOVIES.RISI KAPOOR SHASHI KAPPORJI AND RANDHIR KAPOOR ALSO RULED BOLLTWOOD IN THEIR DAYS. RAFISAAB DIED 31 YEARS AGI IN THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN AND TODAY SHAMMIJI ALSO DEPARTED INTHE MONTH OF RAMADAN TO JOIN HIS OTHER HALF RAFI SAAB..MY SINCERE CONDOLANCES TO THE ENTIRE KAPOOR FAMILY AS WELL AS TO THE MILLION OF FANS OF SHAMMIJI. HUM TUKO YU BHULANA PAAYENGE.REST IN PEACE MY SUPER HERO, AS INDIA TODAY CELEBRATES ITS INDEPENDANCE DAY SHAMMIJI YOU WILL ALSO BE REMEMBERD ON THIS DAY BY THOSANDS OF YOUR FANS. RIP,SHAMMIJI. MEHBOOB BHAYAT LUSAKA, ZAMBIA, CENTRAL AFRICA
shocked to hear about sad demise of the most energetic actor,dancer perhaps first dancing hero who never needed any choreographer to style his dance,his dance movements alongwith head shaking over the strong shoulders at almost any angle made him so handsome n extraordinary.rafisaab added his magical and golden voice to suit his perfect style n image on screen…in fact shammijee took keen interest in song recordings and rafisaab was a real master to boost actor’s image on screen…no body can take the place vacated by great shammi..yahoo..kapoor…both he and rafisaab were made for each other…may his soul rest in peace….tum mujhe yoon bhula na payoge…