Asha Parekh recounts on how Geeta Bali’s death impacted Shammi Kapoor
Asha Parekh recounts on how Geeta Bali’s death impacted Shammi Kapoor
It was a well-known fact that Shammi Kapoor was a blue-eyed ladies’ man and supposedly has courted and won the most beautiful women on this planet. The ‘Yahoo’ actor had affairs with various heroines, including the great Nutan and the gorgeous Mumtaz.
He attracted women like a magnet and, well, he hardly resisted.
One of his leading ladies Asha Parekh opens up that she was much aware of his reputation, so when worked together for the first time she called him Shammi Chacha and he remained for her from then onwards. She had two people named Shammi in her life very dear to her. One was Shammi Kapoor and the other was the actress Shammi. Both brought so much joy to every life they touched.
As per Shammi Kapoor’s biographer, a veteran journalist, Rauf Ahmed, Shammi regarded Nutan a cerebral actor with an uncanny ability to lend depth and individuality to the characters she was assigned to play. She was among the very few who could interpret a role with total understanding, not just play it.
Shammi knew Nutan from the time they were children. Shammi’s father Prithviraj Kapoor and Nutan’s mother Shobana Samarth were good friends. As kids Nutan and Shammi attended the same parties and Shammi escorted Nutan to the premiere of her debut film Nagina.
However, there is no evidence of any serious relationship between the two.
A veteran actress who worked with Shammi says much of his conquests with a woman was just fantasy.
Many heroes with macho images threw the names of us heroines around just to garnish their gourmet. Once she had confronted a leading man–please don’t mention his name–for spreading the humour of our affair. After that he couldn’t show her his face.
Undoubtedly the love of Shammi Kapoor’s life was Geeta Bali, very adventurous and the only woman in the world who could punch Shammi, and get away with it and one who turned Shammi Kapoor into a star. Before Geeta, Shammi Kapoor was under the shadows of his father Prithviraj Kapoor, and his brother Raj Kapoor. Geeta Bali brought that transformation of image. She made him the ‘Yahoo’ star.
Shammi lost Geeta Bali in just fifteen days. It was for a film called Rano, which was later made with Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini and titled Ek Chadar Maili Si. At that time around, Dharmendra was playing Rishi’s role and Geeta Bali was playing Hema’s role. Then she fell ill with smallpox. Her condition got worse and finally, she breathed her last.
And at that time Shammi was on shoot for Teesri Manzil. He returned for the shoot of the song “Tumne Mujhe Dekha Hokar Meherbaan”.
News Edit K.V.Raman
