Never had a dull moment with dad

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Aditya raj kapoor, son of shammi kapoor and geeta bali, recalls his father’s passionate spirit and the indelible impact he left on his life

ven as I was driving down to the cremation ground with his body, people were playing his hit numbers on the loudspeakers on the roads everywhere. The crowd that turned up slowed down the entire procession.
It was astounding to see people peeping into the ambulance and throwing flowers inside through the only window that was open and chanting “Yahoo” as if it was the mantra that my dad had created. At that moment, it dawned upon me what being Shammi Kapoor’s son really meant. It was then I realised that he was not an ordinary actor and it has not been easy coping with life without my father.
While he was never overbearing as a father, he was relentless in the pursuit of his career. When he was at the peak of his acting career, there was never a dull moment in our lives. Of the 200 films that he did in the span of his career, 50 are superhits and 50 can never be forgotten.
He was a passionate man. Whatever he did, he did it with a passion — be it dancing, cooking or being in love. He did things from his heart and there were no pretences about him.
When it came to him being a father, he was clear about certain things. He always wanted us to lead a quality life. He made me read books and said, “If you read books, you can travel without a ticket. Whenever you do anything, make sure you do your best. When I can provide you with the quality, why shouldn’t you live life like that?” That was Shammi Kapoor.
He never believed in shortcuts and always believed that there is no end to learning. I remember when I once came home after a beer too many, he was upset, but didn’t show it. He just said, “Make sure that when your son comes home drunk, you are not rude to him. Just go with the flow.” It was his way of saying, “I am hurt.”
My parents were very passionate people who were madly in love. It was her support that made him the superstar he went on to become. She even gave up her acting career to take care of the growing family. I was only nine when she passed away.
Life changed after my mother’s death — I went into depression because I just couldn’t deal with her not being with us anymore. I went out of hand. Dad by then had also shot to superstardom and we, as a family, couldn’t cope with this loss in the privacy of our homes. We were both looking for ways to mourn but none of us got our space, neither did we get time to just be with each other.
It was then that our guruji, Heda Khan intervened to put things in place. And I just needed somebody to talk to. In the meantime, my aunt — Raj Kapoor’s wife — got this proposal and asked my dad to remarry. He relented.
My second mother was a wonderful lady in her own right though she was a complete contrast to my mother. By then, I was 13, yet completely lost and was happy that she came in as the anchor to save our dysfunctional lives. She not only managed to stabilise my father, but the entire family.
After marriage, she efficiently handled the dual task of dealing with the complex superstar that was my father; and two very depressed children. While my mother created Shammi Kapoor, the superstar, my second mother managed to bring out the Shammi Kapoor who was a family man.
The family was in the throes of depression but she devoted herself to making us all happy again. A soft-spoken and highly cultured woman, she had tremendous compassion. She brought the much-needed grounding in my sister’s life and mine. In fact, she didn’t even have children because of us. I am genuinely indebted to her.
Yes, being a Kapoor with a flamboyant father certainly went to my head. By the time I was 18, I had started going to the RK Studios to assist my uncle, Raj Kapoor. I was in fact, planning to face the camera and carry on the legacy of the Kapoor family but my guruji stepped in and told me to take up the spiritual path instead.
Although dad had been excitedly waiting for me to join films just like the rest, he never showed his disappointment when I decided to bow out.
My guruji wanted me to give up the film industry and so got me a position as an apprentice to a businessman, Yogendra Madhavdas. I subsequently went on to work in Delhi with Rajan Nanda, head of Escorts.
For 25 years, I never looked back. Although at times, I yearned to go back to the industry, I ultimately have no regrets. My dad always told me to just go ahead and never look back. I now know that my father’s life’s mission was to always help me be a better human being.
However, life now has come a full circle and after all these years, I have come back to acting. Dad, of course, was delighted, but the first piece of advice that he gave me was, “Play your age, be natural and don’t pretend to be someone else. Also, don’t overeducate yourself.” So after all these years, I will be the third generation Kapoor who is planning to act with the fifth generation.
Today, when I bid adieu to my father and immersed his ashes in the holy waters at Hrishikesh along with my son Vishwapratap, I recalled what my father always said to me.
Today, all I expect to do with my life is make it as wonderful and fulfilled as I can. All these experiences have made me realise that everything in life is pre-destined and I am just glad that my children have lovely memories of their grandparents.

As told to
SHAMA BHAGAT