Shashi Kapoor: The humble art who once refused a National Award because he felt his ‘performance was not competent enough’

Shashi Kapoor is remembered for his charming, beautiful looks that could melt hearts. In a career spanning over six decades, he produced films – Indian and international, revived his father’s legacy – Prithvi Theatre, and of course, performed exceptionally well as an actor in some of the most popular films in the 1960s and 1970s. The director who gave some of his, and Shashi’s most popular hits of the era was Yash Chopra. On Shashi’s 84th birth anniversary, here’s recalling some of their collaborations that got them immense success.
Shashi Kapoor started his career as a child actor in the late 1940s but his first film role as a grown-up came with Yash Chopra’s National Award-winning film Dharmputra. Playing a Hindu fundamental in the backdrop of Partition, Shashi played a young man who was born to Muslim parents but was brought up in a Hindu household. His true identity is still unknown to him as he gangs up with other extrems and makes it his mission to make sure that the Muslims leave India for Pakan. With religious bigotry at its theme, this Yash Chopra film introduced Shashi Kapoor as the actor who could convincingly play a man who, on paper, seems hateful, but is struggling with his exential issues.
Shashi Kapoor starrer Dharmputra won a National Film Award for the Best Feature Film in Hindi. (Photo: Express Archives)
“I had the chance to play the role of a lifetime in the film Dharmputra, directed Yash Chopra in 1961. I was nominated for the National Award for it, but I refused it as I felt my performance was not competent enough,” shared a humble Shashi with Ranjan Das Gupta in 2012.
This was the start of a journey that saw Yash and Shashi collaborating on some standout films. Soon after Dharmputra, Yash was ready to take on a big project and started working on Waqt. In a chat with Shah Rukh Khan in 2012, Chopra had revealed that he initially wanted to cast Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor for the three roles but was discouraged to do so because their identical looks would not help the film’s plot. He recast the role of the two older brothers but was keen on retaining Shashi because he had already seen the work ethic of the young actor. “I said, Shashi Kapoor is my friend. We had made Dharmputra. He has to work in my film, no matter if anyone from Kapoor family works in this or not,” he told SRK.

Shashi, in his interview with Ranjan in 2012, shared that he was quite intimidated of working with a cast that comprised of many big names like Balraj Sahni, Sunil Dutt and Raaj Kumar. He requested Yash to make sure he did not get “sandwiched” between the greats. “I received equal footage as compared to any of the other leading actors. then we’d developed a good work rapport and were ready to work together whenever required,” he said.
Yash Chopra’s Waqt was the first Hindi film based on the lost and found formula. (Photo: Express Archives)
But their next collaboration a decade later, with one of the finest films of Hindi cinema – Deewar. Shashi was well aware that his role was that of a second hero, and Amitabh Bachchan would get top billing, but he still went on to take up the role, that has since become one of his most famous films. Shashi played the role of an ideal man named Ravi, who wants to make the world a better place following law and order. Hence, he joins the police. But his brother Vijay, played Bachchan, has lost faith in the system ever since it failed his father. Shashi’s character was the voice of reason here whose presence was essential to highlight Vijay’s anger. His calm presence and diligent attitude made his character appear optimic, which could cut across Vijay’s frustration.

At the time, news reports suggested that Shashi was duped into taking on a secondary role but the actor dismissed these rumours in a 1975 interview to Filmfare. “I think it’s ridiculous to say that Amitabh’s role was engineered to show me up. After all, before I took the role I knew I was playing the second lead,” he said. Shashi added that actors at the time had a lot of hang-ups about playing so-called ‘heroes’. “Why do we have this hang-up in our country? About always coming out as heroes. In the West great names like Olivier, Burton, Harrison frequently played second roles. There’s nothing demeaning about that,” he said.
Recalling one of the most iconic scenes of the film in the 2012 interview to Ranjan, Shashi said, “In one scene, I had to shout, ‘Bhai, tum dastakhat karoge ya nahin’ in three octaves, one rising above the other. Here, Yash Chopra showed his expertise in controlling me from going overboard.”
Yash Chopra’s 1975 film Deewar is one of the most popular films of Shashi Kapoor. (Photo: Express Archives)
Deewar and Kabhie Kabhie were shot simultaneously and both these films starred Amitabh and Shashi in significant roles. In the 2012 chat with SRK, Chopra shared that he decided to cast both these actors because they were wholly dependable. “These two people are the most punctual people I have worked with,” he said. Shashi’s son Kunal Kapoor told Rediff in 2015 that Shashi was extremely professional and was easy to work with. “He had no tantrums, no starry airs, he never misbehaved on the sets, he was punctual and everybody liked working with him,” he said.
While in Deewar, Shashi played the ideal young man, in Kabhi Kabhie, he played a carefree older man who is partially aware of his wife’s past love affair with a poet, played Bachchan, but he is not a jealous husband. He accepts that the past is in the past, and is ready to move on with the life and family that he and his wife have built together. Shashi, in a 1984 interview with Tabassum, revealed that writer Sagar Sarhadi and director Yash Chopra gave him room to improvise in the film. And amid such a big ensemble, Shashi’s performance is memorable here.
Shashi Kapoor played Rishi Kapoor’s father in Kabhi Kabhie. (Photo: Express Archives)
In the late 1970s, Yash brought Shashi on board for other multi-starrers like Trishul and Kaala Patthar. In Trishul, Shashi played the legitimate son of a man who has never taken any responsibility for his illegitimate son, played Amitabh Bachchan. He also played a cameo role in Silsila which was significant in terms of triggering the events of the story. Shashi had a few scenes in Silsila but his effortless presence left a mark on the film.
Shashi and Yash did not collaborate in films after Silsila but their friendship lasted all their life. In fact, when Shashi Kapoor was honoured with a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, it was Yash who presented him with the trophy. Shashi Kapoor passed away in 2017, but his legacy – his films and Prithvi Theatre, continues to make an impact in the creative arts.