No yesteryear Bollywood hero—to state the obvious—held as much appeal as Shammi ‘Yahoo’ Kapoor, when he was at his peak, giving just about every star a run for their money. That Shammi, as he’s fondly known, established a sublime niche of his own, like no other, in the 1950s and 1960s, was one thing. His jazzy, sparkling chemistry, not to speak of his own unique persona on celluloid, was another. It was not only exclusive and refreshing, but also inimitably energetic and boisterous—yet subtle, and uplifting, when the situation demanded.
Shammi (born, October 21, 1931), joined Prithvi Theatres, in 1948, as a junior artist. His salary: a princely ₹150 per month. He stayed with Prithvi, for four years. When he left, his salary had reached a ‘handsome’ figure of ₹300. He made his film debut in Jeevan Jyoti in 1953. His ‘early’ essays were Rail Ka Dibba, and Laila Majnu, with Nutan and Madhubala, respectively, and others, interspersed with a few nondescript films.
His career was dreadful—especially, in the beginning.
Assertive Magnetism
When Shammi married Geeta Bali, in 1955, a love story like no other, he was, again, just Shammi Kapoor. Not a sensation, yet. And, with the release of Tumsa Nahin Dekha in 1957, after four frustrating years, Shammi came of age — without his elder brother Raj Kapoor’s ‘aura,’ or moustache. He had found his feet, thanks to his novelty of histrionic and acrobatic representation—his own prescription in all its myriad forms, or call it aggressive romanticism.
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