Wow! On the birth anniversary of Shashi Kapoor, let's go back in time when the star revealed why he worked in films despite of theatre being his first love

MUMBAI: Cinegoers argue that he is the best-looking Kapoor in this filmy family that could boast of their good-looking genes. From romance to action, this Kapoor lad has portrayed each role to perfection. Apart from Hindi films, the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor has made a distinct name with his foray into international films. He was also a noted and progressive filmmaker. He passed away on December 4, 2017 after prolonged illness.

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In one of his interviews before his demise. Kapoor had recalled the reason behind joining films. In the interview, he also spoke about is journey, his wife Jennifer Kendal.

He said, "Theatre was always my first love, and still is. When I came to the movies, it was to get a job, do the roles that came to me. I wanted to earn enough money to support my family. I never aspired to be a star." The actor had said that he would never change a thing if he had the option to choose his profession once again.

Talking abut his wife Jennifer Kendal, he said, "When I saw Jennifer I was 18, and I immediately wanted to marry her... I had made up my mind to be in the show business at the age of six. When I was 12, I made my first 16mm movie." 

Shashi Kapoor had also revealed that in the mid-7s he was not getting satisfaction with his work and turned to his wife to ask what he should do. "She asked me to do what I wanted to do. So we built a theatre (Prithvi) and I made 'Junoon', 'Kalyug', '36 Chowringhee Lane', 'Vijayta', and 'Utsav'. They bombed!" added he. 

Shashi Kapoor appeared in 148 films between 1945 and 1998, in which he was the sole hero in 61 and a lead hero in 53 multi starrers, supporting actor in 21, did 7 guest appearances and did four roles as a child artiste (including the two RK films).

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These included evergreen hits such as B.R. Chopra's 'Waqt', 'Jab Jab Phool Khile' opposite Nanda, the madcap 'Pyar Kiya Jaa' -- which happened to be among the funniest movies made in Bollywood, 'Haseena Maan Jayegi' opposite Babita, who later became his sister-in-law and mother of Karisma and Kareena, 'Fakira', 'Kaala Patthar' -- where he held his own against Amitabh and Shatrughan Sinha, 'Do Aur Do Paanch', 'Silsila', 'Shaan', 'Namak Halaal' and 'New Delhi Times', where he played a crusading newspaper editor.

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