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Graceful and grey
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Shashi Kapoor takes a trip down memory lane with SUDHISH KAMATH
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"I'M NOT a heart-throb. Come on, look at me. I'm fat. I'm old," one of Bollywood's most handsome and charming faces says, sitting comfortable in an off-white kurta pyjama at the Madras Club on Sunday morning.
Just an hour ago, Shashi Kapoor was told politely during breakfast that he wasn't wearing any socks with his shoes and that the place required a more formal dress code. "I don't come to Madras very often. I'm here after about six or seven years. The last time I was here was for an association called the Overseas Ladies Intellectual Group, a club formed by women married to ambassadors. And even before that, very few movies of mine have been shot here. I was here for `Pyar Kiye Ja' with Sridhar, `Janwar Aur Insaan' and `Do Aur Do Paanch' with Devar, Nagi Reddy's `Swayamvar'...," he recalls.
This time, however, he was here on an "important mission". The veteran actor was in the city as an ambassador for the International Abilympics (the Olympics for vocational skills for people with disabilities). Shashi Kapoor had also been involved with Amar Jyoti Trust in Delhi — he had used the premiere of "Vijeta" to raise funds for the society. This November, all the societies were coming together for the International Abilympics — a first in India. In Mumbai, he was involved with Cancer Patients Aids Society (CPAS) and the Happy Home for the Blind that houses and educates visually impaired children. In Pune, he was involved with CARE.
Not many film-stars do that. And some who do, choose to stay in five star luxury during such trips. But not Shashi Kapoor. "As a child I remember that children with disabilities were not treated properly, for no fault of theirs. These children were regarded as `bad omen', and treated like `beggars'... but there were those who overcame their challenges and went on to become eminent personalities. I learnt from my father (Prithviraj Kapoor) who took a great interest in helping the disabled and imbibed the same".
"Even when I was busy with films, I was involved in such activities. Now I have more time, so I'm devoting it to honorary work. There are several NGOs doing good work. George Abraham, the man behind Cricket for The Blind, is a good friend," he says as George comes over to escort him to the media conference.
"You acted in a movie where you have a disabled son," a visually impaired George reminds him. "Yes, that was 30 years ago, with Sharmila Tagore, `Aa Gale Lag Ja'. Saif was born just then," the actor recalls.
As we try to get him to talk more about movies, the senior Kapoor doesn't appear to be keen. "I'm not into the new crop of movies. There are very few movies that I watch these days. I saw `Monsoon Wedding', `Bend It Like Beckham', `Mr. And Mrs. Iyer'. I saw `Aankhen' where Amitabh Bachchan played the villain. There is an interesting character in that movie. Paresh Rawal plays a blind person, I found the portrayal very true... how acid is poured into the eyes of innocent people to earn income for the mafia," he says. He continues,"I don't do much these days. I'm at home, reading, watching TV, spending time with my grand-children. Taking care of the family... backseat driving basically." So, acting and cinema no longer excite him? "My interest in cinema will always be there. As far as acting is concerned, the last film I did was in 1992. A film for Ismail Merchant called `In Custody'. I played a dying Urdu poet. I told him I can't do it but Ismail was persistent. It was difficult to play a `shair' when you don't know Urdu. I had to work very hard. After that, I realised there was nothing more for me to do. I've done some work abroad so you can't really say I have lost interest or forsaken cinema," the Punjabi who can't speak Punjabi either, says.
Writing and direction then? "I'm not Javed. I can't write. I'm Shashi Kapoor. And as far as direction, I directed `Ajooba' that didn't work. Film-maker David Lean said: `Make the film you want to make. If it does not succeed, make bread'. So I closed the company. Now there's Prithvi Theatre which my daughter runs."
It was his days as a theatre actor which, he says, has been the most satisfying phase of his life — the period between 1953-1960 when he used to act in Shakespeare plays.
"I remember coming to Madras then. I stayed at the American Christian Association... we said we were Christians and stayed there. They used to charge one and a half rupees per night. That was in 1957. Then I have also stayed at the Victoria Hotel, Egmore, years later when they used to charge Rs. 20 with food."
One more question. We ask him about his successful pairing with Amitabh Bachchan. "We did about ten movies together. We both are disciplined actors. Even as human beings, we knew how to maintain professional ethics that did not exist at that time. We respected each other's talent and wouldn't step on each other's toes. We didn't have egos then. In 1982, I did `Silsila' and `Namak Halal' with him and I even directed him in `Ajooba'."
Spotting that it was time for the media conference, he begins to pack his travel bag. "Can you put the chair back where it was? Since you are the youngest here, please carry my bag. You can tell people you carried my bag," he says.
Of course!
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