Mumbai: Veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor was conferred with the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley at Prithvi theatre here in a star studded event. The 77-year-old came on the stage on a wheelchair accompanied by his daughter Sanjana Kapoor, but he smiled and folded his hands in reverence after receiving the honour — the third for Indian cinema`s popular Kapoor family.
The I&B Minister called Shashi Kapoor as the most versatile personality of Bollywood and thanked him for his contribution to Indian cinema. He is the 46th recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke Award to receive this honour for his outstanding contribution to the growth and development to Indian Cinema.
Family and friends of Shashi Kapoor who attended the event included Karishma Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and colleagues from the B-Town — Amitabh Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Rekha, Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon, Shyam Benegal, among others. Rishi and his son Ranbir addressed those gathered at the Prithvi theatre before the award was conferred to Shashi Kapoor.
A special audio-visual celebrating Shashi`s films and personal journey was also screened at the event. It featured Amitabh, Shabana Azmi, Sharmila Tagore, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor talking about the cinematic icon, who also had an equal penchant for theatre.
The veteran actor was unable to attend the award ceremony in Delhi due to his ill-health; therefore he was handed over the award at a function at Prithvi Theatre in suburban Mumbai.
Born in 1938, Kapoor hit the spotlight from the age of four acting in plays directed and produced by his father, while travelling with Prithvi Theatre. He started acting in films as a child in the late 1940s.
His best known performances as child artist were in “Aag” (1948) and “Awaara” (1951), where he played the younger version of the character played by Raj Kapoor. Shashi Kapoor also worked as assistant director in the 1950s.
Kapoor made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 film “Dharmputra” and went on to appear in more than 116 films during 60s, 70s and until the mid 80s. Some of his memorable films include “Deewar”, “Kabhie Kabhie”, “Namak Halal”, “Kaala Pathar” and others.
Bureau Report
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