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My Unforgettable Moments : Shammi Kapoor

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My Unforgettable Moments : Shammi Kapoor

 
YOU promised not to tell……

        “But… they are unforgettable….”

        “True, but how could you even dream of telling….”

This is how the argument went on within me before I began to write about my unforgettable moments.

The first experience alone is unforgettable. Repeated again and again, it freezes into habit. The unforgettable moments and those that are forgotten, the intense and the trivial, make up the chapters of human life.

They are few, the experiences. I will never forget the first time I became aware of him, because in that instant I knew life would never be the same again. He made it fiery, turbulent –going somewhere, faster, and faster, always going endlessly, never reaching.

He drove me mercilessly, making me live as though each day were my last. He made me go in search of everything in life until a voice whispered within me, “you must find yourself first to find everything” that was when I decided to get rid of him.

His name is Shammi Kapoor. He used to be a handsome young man with a thin moustache and a devastating look which unnerved the brave and attracted the fair. He nearly led me astray when I realized that I must take another path.

I was about fourteen at the time, studying at the Don Bosco School. I had been chosen for the football team to play against another school. I was very proud of this. The match was to be held at the Matunga Gymkhana Grounds.

A few minutes before the match we trooped to the ground in our uniforms. I was the goal-keeper. The game commenced – and with it my downfall.

Among the crowd near the goal I was (supposed to be) defending, I noticed two girls in pigtails, grazing adoringly at me! This spent my spirits soaring, and I began to show off. Our opponents scored goal after goal through my distracted defence, and we lost the match by the ignominious score of seven-love.

When the match was over and the crowd dispersed, the irate members of my team fell on me with fury and gave me a sound thrashing, swearing never to allow me near the football ground again. But was I worried? No, I had been admired by two lovely girls.

The first time I took a girl to the pictures was when I was not fifteen yet. We were looking forward to it. I had booked two seats in the Rs 1-5 class. Before we caught the train at Matunga, where we lived, I bought two first-class tickets.

We saw the picture-till the interval. The crowd got up and went into the foyer and we too went. At the door, the usher looked at us.

“Just a minute,” he whispered, drawing me aside.

“I don’t think you know, but your father is upstairs in the Rs. 2-2 class, and your grandfather is in the Rs. 2-10 class!”

I got the shock of my life.

“Come,” I told my fair companion taking her elbow and hurrying, “we’ll see the second half some other time!”

We hastened to the station, nervously looking behind us to see if my father or grandfather was following us.

In spite of having us first-class tickets, we entered a crowded third-class compartment and travelled standing. I was taking no chances.

(This is an excerpt from an article by Shammi Kapoor, published in “Filmfare’ May, 1958. It gives a deep insight into the character of the man – fun loving and deeply honest. We reproduce the piece here as a tribute to the Prince Charming of the Bollywood. Editor)

*****

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  1. आपने *मनोरंजन * की दुनिया के *राजकुमार * के अन्छुवे कुछ पहलुओं का स्पर्श कराया … अच्छा लगा ! … स्मृति के वातायन से झाँकने पर समय का अम्बर दृष्टिगत होता है ! बादलों में मुस्कराते अपनों के चेहरे भी सामने आते हैं ! सिल्वर स्क्रीन पर ही देखे हुवे शम्मी कपूर ऍक कलाकार होने के नाते ख़ास अपने ही लगते रहे हैं…! करीब दो दशक पहले उनके नेट सर्फिंग में व्यस्त रहने सम्बन्धी प्रकाशित बातें भी नेट पर उनके न रहने की सूचना पढ़ते हुवे याद आ रही हैं…! शम्मी जी को नमन !

  2. awwwwwww so happy to know shammijis childhood story .really i m surprised my sweet heart shammiji is was so no naughty specially loving girls love u shammiji specially lots of thanx to bhopal post .i m so thankfull to u further i request u u plz share nice unforgetable moments of my love shammiji.thanx again to bhopal post

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