Legendary megastar Shashi Kapoor no more
Veteran Indian film industry stalwart Shashi Kapoor has died at the age of 79, it has been confirmed. His nephew Randhir told the Press Trust of India (PTI) that the actor had died in Mumbai on Monday after several years of kidney problems.
Kapoor was a scion of the celebrated Indian film-making dynasty, the son of Mughal-E-Azam star Prithviraj Kapoor, and brother of Raj Kapoor. Shashi Kapoor’s own screen career started as a child actor in the 1940s and 50s, appearing in films such as Aag and Awaara, in both of which he played the younger version of his already established brother Raj. His first leading role was in the award-winning 1961 Dharmputra, directed by Yash Chopra, which was one of the first Indian features to deal with partition.
Star of huge hits like Deewar, In Custody, and Junoon, the actor was a member of the Kapoor dynasty, which has been a dominating force in the Hindi film industry for decades. The youngest son of Prithviraj, a pioneer in film and theatre, both he and his brothers Raj and Shammi Kapoor became renowned as actors.
Shashi Kapoor made a name for himself both on stage and on film, starting his career as a child and eventually starring in more than 150 films; he won several national film awards and was awarded the Padma Bhushan civilian honour by the Indian government in 2011.
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