Shammi Kapoor

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Shammi Kapoor
Born	Shamsher Raj Prithviraj Kapoor 21 October 1931 Mumbai, India
Died	14 August 2011 (aged 79) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India[1]
Cause of death	Chronic kidney failure
Residence	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Other names	Elvis Presley of India[2]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1948–2006,2011
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Spouse(s)	Geeta Bali (m. 1955–1965; her death) Neela Devi Gohil (m. 1969–2011; until his death)
Children	Aditya Raj Kapoor Kanchan Desai
Parents	Prithviraj Kapoor (Father) Ramsharani Kapoor (Mother)
Relatives	Shashi Kapoor (Brother), Raj Kapoor (Brother), Ritu Nanda (Niece), Randhir Kapoor (Nephew), Rishi Kapoor (Nephew), Karisma Kapoor (Grand Niece), Kareena Kapoor (Grand Niece), Ranbir Kapoor (Grand Nephew)
Awards	Filmfare Best Actor Award (1968) Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (1982) Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (1995) Phalke Legend Actor Award by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy (2009)

Shammi Kapoor (Hindi: शम्मी कपूर; born Shamsher Raj Prithviraj Kapoor; 21 October 1931^[4][5] – 14 August 2011) was an Indian film actor and director. He made his film debut in 1953 with the film Jeevan Jyoti, which was a commercial failure.^[6] Kapoor acted in a series of flops from 1953 to 1957, finally breaking the chain with the hit Tumsa Nahin Dekha. He received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 1968 for his performance inBrahmachari and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Vidhaata in 1982.^[7][8] He became one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema in the 1950s and 1960s.

Part of the Kapoor family, he had an older brother, Raj Kapoor and a younger one - Shashi Kapoor. They both became successful actors. He was also the son of Prithviraj Kapoor. Kapoor married twice, first to actress Geeta Bali, which ended with her death from smallpox. His second wife was Neila Devi, whom he married in 1969.^[9] Kapoor also had an affair with his Brahmachari co-star, Mumtaz.^[10]

Early life

He was given the name Shamsher Raj Kapoor at his birth in Mumbai to film and theatre actor Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsharni Kapoor née Mehra.^[4]Shammi was the second of the three sons born to Prithviraj (the other two being Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor), both successful Bollywood actors. He spent a major portion of his childhood in Kolkata, where his father was involved with New Theatres Studios, acting in films. It was in Kolkata that he did his Montessori and Kindergarten. After coming back to Mumbai, he first went to St. Joseph's Convent (Wadala) and then, to Don Bosco School. He finished his matric schooling from New Era School at Hughes Road.

Kapoor had a short stint at Ruia College, in Matunga, Mumbai, after which he joined his father’s theatrical company Prithvi Theatres. He entered the cinema world in 1948, as a junior artiste, at a salary of Rs. 50 per month, stayed with Prithvi Theatres for the next four years and collected his last pay check of Rs. 300, in 1952. He made his debut in Bollywood in the year 1953, when the film Jeevan Jyoti was released. It was directed by Mahesh Kaul and Chand Usmani was Kapoor’s first heroine.