Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor no more

Mumbai, Aug 14 (PTI) Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor, who
ruled the late 1950s and 1960s with his unique style and
versatile range, passed away today at the Breach Candy
Hospital here, family sources said.
He was 79. He is survived by his wife Neela Devi, son
Aditya Raj and daughter Kanchan Desai.
According to the sources, he was on dialysis for the
last few years and was undergoing the procedure at least
thrice a week. He was yesterday admitted to the ICU of the
hospital.
The actor, who made his debut in Bollywood in 1953, when
the film 'Jeevan Jyoti' was released, carved out a niche for
himself with the superhit Junglee in 1961.
His new image took ground and his subsequent films were
all in this genre later.

Kapoor, hailed as 'Elvis Presley of India', joined the
silver screen at a time when his elder brother Raj Kapoor, Dev
Anand and Dilip Kumar were the reigning trio.
Kapoor was suffering from chronic renal failure, family
sources said.
The funeral will take place Monday morning, they said.
Born Shamsher Raj Kapoor on October 21, 1931, Kapoor was
the second son of veteran theatre and film actor Prithviraj
Kapoor.
Despite his family background, Shammi's entry into
Bollywood was initially not successful even though he worked
with major heroines like Madhubala in 'Rail ka Dibba', Suraiya
in 'Shama Parwana' and Nalini Jaywant in 'Hum Sab Chor Hai'.
His initial movies flopped at the Box Office. He
reinvented himself with 'Tumsa Nahi Dekha' cutting his hair in
the famous duck-tail style of the 50s and never looked back
since then.
With the success of Junglee in 1961, an entire decade
reeled under its colourful impact.
Shammi heralded the swinging 60s and a large part of
his appeal was primarily due to the immensely catchy and
upbeat numbers like 'Suku Suku', 'O Haseena Zulfo Wali', 'Aaj
Kal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche', 'Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar
Tera' where he was at his boisterous best.
Even though success came with light weight tales like
'Kashmir Ki Kali', 'Rajkumar', 'Jaanwar' and 'An Evening in
Paris', his performances in flicks like 'Junglee',
'Badtameez', 'Bluff Master', 'Pagla Kahin Ka', 'Teesri
Manzil', 'Brahmachari' silenced his critics.
'Andaz', which released in 1971, was his last movie as a
leading man but his character roles in 'Vidhata', 'Hero' and
'Prem Rog' were well received.
Shammi was a computer aficionado and his last years
were veered towards spiritualism.