Look into your heart….

He was born Shamsher Raj Kapoor , the second son of a famous father. His father didn’t believe in giving a leg up to his children, all of whom started with their own shares of struggles but learnt life lessons the way they should be. He started his career after sometime in Ruia College in Mumbai as an extra in his father’s drama company, with a starting salary of ₹50 p.m. Imagine neither of the father-son duo thought this wasn’t the right thing. Over 4 years of hard work led to that salary increasing to ₹300 p.m., a fact that Prithviraj Kapoor, the father would proudly tell his friends and family. He left the theater to seek his place in the Mumbai based film industry.

He made his film debut with the commercially unsuccessful Jeewan Jyoti. He used the family nickname of Shammi Kapoor rather than his given name, also to avoid confusion with his older brother, who had already become a big name by then. Chand Usmani , a Meena Kumari clone of sorts was his first leading lady.

His career floundered with a  continuous series of box-office flops for 4 years, he had his lucky breakthrough with Tumsa Nahi Dekha , which actually was made as a (re)launch vehicle for Filmistan head honcho Tolaram Jalan’s protégé Ameeta, but ended up relaunching  him instead with a totally different image of a stylish playboy and dancer, and he consolidated this further recognition with Dil Deke Dekho, the movie saw both the teenaged leading lady and the teenaged composer making their debut.  The blockbuster hit Junglee , (the debut for Saira Banu) and went on to become one of the most marketable Bollywood stars throughout the 1960s, appearing in a number of highly successful and popular films.  To his credit, he was painfully aware of the troubles as a newbie in the industry and was prepared to do something which very few established stars ever did, : share screen space with debutante leading ladies and ensured they started with a hit film in their journey to stardom.

  Following his leading role in Andaz , Shammi Kapoor began to appear primarily in supporting roles. Apart from acting, he is widely considered one of the best dancers in Indian Cinema. He is undoubtedly a visionary, seeing the power of the internet and harnessing that in a manner which none of his peers did. Shammi Kapoor was the Founder and Chairman of the Internet Users Community of India (IUCI). He had also played a major role in setting up internet organizations like the Ethical Hackers Association. 

This is a wonderful, romantic duet from one of his films with Mala Sinha, Dil Tera Deewana, which released the same year as the China War. https://youtu.be/0CLLfj7UMdQ

Although the vigorous title track in the movie where the two get soaked in a cloudburst which is a typical Shammi Kapoor song, full of Bollywood mechanisms to suggest more physical intimacy than was shown on film those days (flowers rubbing against one other & so on), I like this one better.

मुझे कितना प्यार है तुम से अपने ही दिल से पूछो तुम
जिसे दिल दिया है वो तुम हो मेरी ज़िंदगी तुम्हारी है
मुझे कितना प्यार है तुम से अपने ही दिल से पूछो तुम
जिसे दिल दिया है वो तुम हो मेरी ज़िंदगी तुम्हारी है

चाहत ने तेरी मुझको कुछ इस तरह से घेरा
दिन को हैं तेरे चर्चे रातों को ख़्वाब तेरा
तुम हो जहाँ वहीं पर रहता है दिल भी मेरा
बस एक ख़याल तेरा क्या शाम क्या सवेरा
मुझे कितना प्यार है तुम से अपने ही दिल से पूछो तुम
जिसे दिल दिया है वो तुम हो मेरी ज़िंदगी तुम्हारी है

ये दुनियाँ कैसे बदली कुछ भी समझ ना आए
क्यूँ कर हुए हो अपने कल तक थे जो पराए
दिल की लगन हो सच्ची फिर क्यूँ ना रंग लाए
मेरे थे तुम सदा से पर अब क़रीब आए
मुझे कितना प्यार है तुम से अपने ही दिल से पूछो तुम
जिसे दिल दिया है वो तुम हो मेरी ज़िंदगी तुम्हारी है

मेरी वफ़ा को अब तो तुम आज़माना छोड़ो
दिल को चुरा के मेरे आँखें चुराना छोड़ो
मुझको बनाके अपना बातें बनाना छोड़ो
मैं कब ना थी तुम्हारी लेकिन सताना छोड़ो
मुझे कितना प्यार है तुम से अपने ही दिल से पूछो तुम
जिसे दिल दिया है वो तुम हो मेरी ज़िंदगी तुम्हारी है
मुझे कितना प्यार है तुम से अपने ही दिल से पूछो तुम
जिसे दिल दिया है वो तुम हो मेरी ज़िंदगी तुम्हारी है

A typical Shailendra– SJ- Rafisaab-Latadidi product that is so endearing even today. https://youtu.be/7rKX_9IrdwI

Click on this link for the original song.

Have a wonderful day ahead folks, enjoy the fruits of the searing hot summer (pun intended). Stay healthy.

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