I am sure you all have watched "Anand", the film that could sell zillions of tissue papers. It is a cathartic film coz while watching it, most all spectators cry their hearts out. At least I do. I might watch it for the nth time, and yet I weep, cry, silently sob. This soul-stirring film has such unforgettable one-liners as "zindagi et natak ...", "zindagi lambi ...", and so on. One of my favourites is "Anand kabhie marte nahin" which signifies that Anand is sure a live-ly human being. More than that, Anand is a way of thinking, living, feeling; an attitude to life, a mode of being with the people, without being of the people!
Well, in my opinion, there are a few non-fictional, though filmy, stars/actors for whom we can use this one-liner. Shammi Kapoor, whose birth anniversary falls on October 21, is undoubtedly a candidate for this category.
In my opinion, in his heydays, Shammi Kapoor was quite a phenomenon. He introduced an almost inimitable dancing style. He was the male counterpart of the "chulbuli, sharati", that is, livewire and naughty/nutty heroine his wife Geeta Bali, one of our finest actresses, excelled at.
Well, he was much much more than that in my opinion. A generation earlier, the trio of Raj Kapoor-Dev Anand-Dilip Kumar ushered in the post-Independence idealistic hero. Watch any one of their films, and you would agree with my statement because even when they depict a character with a negative shade or two, unmistakable is the silver lining of idealism.
Not so with Shammi Kapoor. He is in my opinion the first to introduce the modern metro sexual hero version in the Bollywood scenario. 'Silly brat with a golden heart' is how his persona can best be described. He can be goofy, slightly Bertie Wooster-ish, but basically a nice fellah! At times, unmistakable is the James Dean kind of late teenage kinda rebellion.
In that sense, he is ever youthful, vibrant, energetic. Watch him in any frame. It looks as if he cannot sit still for a moment. Honestly, Horlicks, or some such energy drink, should have hired him as the brand ambassador. Want proof? Watch "Dil ke zaroke me tuz ko bithakar" from "Bramhchari". He is enacting a broken hearted lover whose beloved is weeping her eyes out, but he is charm personified with all the zatka's n head twists and body wrings!
Aai used to like his joie de vivre. So I always used to tease her that orthopedic surgeon's hospital would be the best place one would surely find him in, given the way he danced cum twisted every possible organ. Indeed, he appears to be the best candidate for such horrors as cervical spondylitis and a slip disc, and stiff shoulder, and types, right?
Of course, I liked him hugely in "Junglee". Remember that unique pout he sported initially? Later on, our dear P.M., Shri Narsingh Raoji, could come anywhere near it, especially in the cartoons. Fun apart, I absolutely adore that film, especially its storyline, not to forget the songs, especially "Ehsan Tera", both versions, Lata and Rafi.
Would you agree with me that the film captures the quintessential Shammi phenomenon? Indeed his is a personality type, high on charm, and charisma that never dies. Hence the title of this small little piece!
Pratima@ "kis kis kis se pyaar karu" is not the dilemma his films leave us in. We love them all for the zingy youthfulness he absolutely personifies.
No comments:
Post a Comment