Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced [ʃʌmːi kʌpuːɾ]; 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. Kapoor is considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, Kapoor worked in over 100 films. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, including one for Best Actor. Born to actor Prithviraj Kapoor and a member of the Kapoor family, he made his film debut with the commercially unsuccessful Jeewan Jyoti (1953). Following roles in continued box-office flops, he had his breakthrough with Tumsa Nahi Dekha (1957), which attained him the image of a stylish playboy and dancer, and subsequently gained further recognition with Dil Deke Dekho (1959). Kapoor rose to widespread recognition with the romantic blockbuster Junglee (1961), and went on to become one of the most marketable Bollywood stars throughout the 1960s, appearing in a number of highly successful films such as - Professor (1962), Dil Tera Diwana (1962), China Town (1962), Rajkumar (1964), Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), Janwar (1965), Teesri Manzil (1966), An Evening In Paris (1967), Brahmachari (1968) and Prince (1969). For Brahmachari, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Following his leading role in Andaz (1971), he began to appear in supporting roles. His notable such roles include - Parvarish (1977), Prem Rog (1982), Vidhaata (1982), Betaab (1983), Hero (1983), Sohni Mahiwal (1984), Wanted (1984), Hukumat (1987), Daata (1989), Tahalka (1992), Chamatkar (1992), Gardish (1993) and Rockstar (2011), which was his final film. For Vidhaata, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Apart from acting, Kapoor is widely considered among the best dancers. Early life and family Kapoor was born as Shamsher Raj Kapoor in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsharni Mehra Kapoor. Shammi was the second of the three sons of Prithviraj (the other two being Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, both successful Hindi film actors). He is the nephew of actor Trilok Kapoor. His father's first cousin was producer and filmmaker Surinder Kapoor. He was the first cousin of singer, Juggal Kishore Mehra, whose granddaughter is the actress-singer Salma Agha. Actors Randhir and Rishi are his nephews, while actor Ranbir is his grand nephew and actresses Karisma and Kareena are his grand nieces. Though born in Mumbai, he spent a major portion of his childhood in Calcutta (now Kolkata), where his father was involved with New Theatres Studios, acting in films. It was in Kolkata that he did his Montessori education and Kindergarten. After coming back to Bombay, 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 Ramnarain Ruia College 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