Veteran Actor and Leading Star of Bollywood of the 1960s, Shammi Kapoor died

Veteran actor and leading star of Bollywood of the 1960s, Shammi Kapoor died in Mumbai on 14 August 2011. Shammi Kapoor was known to be an extremely versatile actor. He debuted in Bollywood in 1953 with the film Jeevan Jyoti, and went on to deliver hits like Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Dil Deke Dekho, Junglee, Dil Tera Diwana, Professor, China Town, Rajkumar, Kashmir Ki Kali, Janwar, Teesri Manzil, An Evening in Paris, Bramhachari, Andaz and Vidhaata.

Born to theatre actor Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni Mehra. Kapoor, he had started out with serious roles but it was with  Nasir Hussain directed Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957) opposite Ameeta and Dil Deke Dekho (1959) with Asha Parekh that he attained the image of a light-hearted, stylish playboy. His new image was cemented with Junglee (1961).

Producers loved pairing Shammi with new heroines, three of them became huge stars in their own right in Hindi films namely Asha Parekh, Saira Banu, and Sharmila Tagore. Sharmila Tagore and Saira Banu made their Bollywood debuts with Shammi Kapoor in Kashmir Ki Kali and Junglee respectively.

After triple success of Tumsa Nahi Dekha (1957), Ujala and Dil Dil Deke Deko (both 1959), he attained recognition.

He received the first Filmfare Best Actor award of his career for the film Bramhachari in 1968. He received the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Vidhaata in 1982 and in 1995 he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002 he was honoured Invaluable Contribution To Indian Cinema at the IIFA. He went on to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian cinema at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) in 2008. Phalke Legend Actor Award by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy was conferred upon him in 2009. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Living Legend Award by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Indian entertainment industry.

Shammi Kapoor was the founder and chairman of Internet Users Community of India (IUCI). He had also played a major role in setting up internet organisations like the Ethical Hackers Association.