Indian cinema legend Shashi Kapoor came from an acting dynasty.
He was born on March 18, 1938 in Calcutta. The name given to him at birth sounds like Balbir Raj. Shashi's father is an actor no less famous all over the world - Prithviraj Kapoor. The Shashi Kapoor brothers were also actors. The Kupurov family was very friendly. For a long time searching for himself, as a person, as an actor, as a family man - Shashi was supported morally and financially by his entire family. Special friendly relations developed between Shashi and his brothers. He was the last and unplanned child.
Actor's career and first film work
The first acquaintance with theater and cinema took place back in 1944. Then Shashi was only six years old. He played children's roles in 19 films. The most memorable characters from the films "Sizzling Passion" and "The Tramp". Since then, Shashi Kapoor has been working as an assistant director.
Many years later, Shashi made his debut in a film called "Son of Fate", but the film was expected to be a complete failure at the box office, as did the following films, in which Shashi starred for the next few years.
The first "explosion" and real glory to the actor was brought by the film "When Flowers Bloom". Long-awaited popularity came with this painting. Subsequently, the actor was in demand for a long time as a leading actor, but in 1984, after the death of his beloved wife, the Englishwoman Jennifer Kapoor (Kendal), he grieved for a long time, and soon, gaining excess weight during depression, continued to act as a minor actor.
Change of profession
Shashi is the first Bollywood actor to conquer the heights of British and American cinema. After the actor was filmed as a child, communication with the cinema continued as an assistant director, and already in the 70s, Shashi retrained as a producer of films in which he himself played the main roles. He also starred in his films with his wife and his children. His paintings, in spite of evil tongues, were a great success and international recognition. This has been noted with various prizes and film awards. 1980 was the year of birth of Shashi Kapoor's production company. Shashi did not avoid directing and opening his own theater, named after his father. But the directorial experience was unsuccessful. The viewer did not like the Soviet-Indian film shot by Shashi Kapoor. And in his last film, he did not appear in the frame at all, but simply voiced the tape, as the narrator in 1998.
Family and personal life
Shashi Kapoor was very happily married to English actress Jennifer Kendal, whom he met long before his cinematic takeoff. Kendal was 5 years older than her husband. However, this age difference has always gone unnoticed. The Shashi family cordially accepted a foreigner into the family, who had to go against her father in order to preserve her love and become the wife of Shashi Kapoor.
The wedding took place in 1958. Kendal and Kapoor have been married for only 26 years. They had two sons and a daughter. Jennifer herself in the mid-80s became seriously ill with cancer. She passed away in 1984 from colon cancer.
Shashi's children also aspired to become actors, and even managed to "light up" in the movies. However, over time, all three decided not to associate their lives with cinema.
The actor died in December 2017 at the age of 79 from a respiratory tract infection.
