Scion of the celebrated film-making Kapoor dynasty and Bollywood veteran Shashi Kapoor has passed away at the age of 79.
The news was confirmed by his nephew Randhir Kapoor who informed PTI that the actor-producer breathed his last at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.
Condolences have poured in from across the country as both President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi express grief after the news came out.
Having debuted as a child actor in the 1940s, Kapoor’s first leading role was in the award-winning 1961 Dharmputra, directed by Yash Chopra. The drama was one of the first Indian features to deal with partition.
By the 1970s, Kapoor had established himself as one of the leading men of Bollywood with a series of hits including Jaanwar Aur Insaan (1972), Kabhi Kabhie (1976) and Trishna (1979).
He was once even in the same league as Amitabh Bachchan, with whom he co-starrred in Kabhi Kabhie as well as Trishul (1978) and Kaala Patthar (1979).
Having married actor Jennifer Kendal in 1958, Kapoor became part of India’s Merchant Ivory stable of English-language, starring opposite Kendal in Bombay Talkie (1970) and Merchant Ivory’s 1982 hit Heat and Dust.
He also appeared with his sister-in-law Felicity Kendal in 1965’s Shakespeare Wallah.
After Jennifer’s demise due to cancer in 1984, Kapoor completely withdrew himself from acting.
He however made an appearance a decade later in Ismail Merchant’s directorial debut In Custody in 1993.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government in 2011. In 2015, he became the third in his family to be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
He is survived by two sons Kunal and Karan, and a daughter Sanjana. Randhir Kapoor said the funeral would be held Tuesday morning.
