Shashi Kapoor’s prayer meet stood for everything that the Kapoor family, often called Hindi film industry’s first family, stands for -- the fact that they stick together in happiness and in grief, and the show must go on. On Thursday evening, the fraternity paid their respects to Shashi Kapoor by lighting candles around a picture of the actor at Prithvi Theatre as a montage of his popular film scenes were played on a screen. He died on Monday following a long-standing ailment.
Members of Kapoor family and Shashi's colleagues from many of his films including Rekha, Waheeda Rehman, Simi Garewal, Hema Malini, Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapuri and family members Neetu Singh, Randhir Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Rajeev Kapoor, Armaan and Adar, were present.
However, Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor could not make it as they had to honour prior film commitments. While Ranbir is shooting for Dutt biopic abroad and had to leave a few hours after Shashi Kapoor’s funeral, Kareena was in the city but had to be a part of an ad shoot.
Randhir Kapoor's daughter Karisma Kapoor arrived with mother Babita while Raj Kapoor's wife Krishna Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor's wife Neila Devi were seen escorted to the venue. In one image, members of the youngest generation of the family - Shaira Kapoor and Zahan Kapoor - were also present.
Several other film fraternity members seen at the venue were Rani Mukerji, Soha Ali Khan with husband Kunal Khemmu, Rohan Sippy, Milan Luthria, Chunkey Pandey, Nandita Das, Ahana Kumra, Ashutosh Gowariker, Kiran Rao, Abbas-Mastan, Suniel Shetty, Madhur Bhandarkar, Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Ronit Roy, Udit Narayan, Ramesh Taurani, Vipul Shah, Sonali Kulkarni, Hansal Mehta, Zoya Akhtar and Sudhir Mishra.
As a star, Shashi Kapoor appeared in over 150 movies including English films such as The Householder and Shakespeare-Wallah.
The youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor, Shashi’s demise marked the death of an era - the second generation of the illustrious Kapoor clan that is often referred as the first family of Hindi cinema. Shashi’s brother Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor ruled the Hindi film industry for decades. While brother Raj Kapoor died in June 1988, Shammi Kapoor breathed his last in August 2011. Raj Kapoor’s sons, Rishi and Randhir continue to work in films even as the fourth generation, led by Kareena and Ranbir Kapoor, rules the industry today.
Several film personalities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Salim Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Ranbir Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Supriya Pathak, Shakti Kapoor and Suresh Oberoi attended the star’s cremation, held in Mumbai on Tuesday. He was wrapped in the tricolour and given a three-gun salute by the police for his last rites at the Santacruz Hindu Crematorium.
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