Veteran film actor Shashi Kapoor, who stole the hearts of the cine-goers right from
the 1960s to the ‘80s with his charming smile and exuberance, passed away
Monday and was cremated with state honours at the Santa Cruz Hindu crematorium
on Tuesday. He was 79.
The funeral was attended by his three children – sons Kunal and
Karan and daughter Sanjna, other members of the Kapoor family and scores of
film personalities, all bidding farewell to the actor, who straddled the worlds
of commercial and art house cinema.
About a dozen policemen draped the actor’s body in Tricolour,
which was later removed for the rituals. There were three rounds of fire to
honour the late actor, who graced the silver screen for more than four decades.
Hundreds of fans with umbrellas and raincoats gathered at the
crematorium, undeterred by the warnings of a cyclone and heavy rain.
Celebrities such as Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, Shyam
Benegal, Shah Rukh Khan, Ayan Mukherji, Hansal Mehta, Nandita Das, Lara Dutta
with husband Mahesh Bhupati, and Maharashtra politician Ramdas Athawale were
amongst those who paid their last respects to the actor. Writer Salim Khan, who
gave Shashi Kapoor the iconic one-line “Mere paas maa hai” in ‘Deewaar’, along
with lyricist Javed Akhtar, was there as well.
An emotional Bachchan, who also visited the veteran actor’s
residence to pay his last respects, was seen hugging the actor’s family
members. Sanjay Dutt, Naseeruddin Shah, Anil Kapoor and Aamir Khan were amongst
those present at the residence for a prayer meet earlier in the day.
Clearly
the man who is famous for his Deewar dialogue ‘Mere Paas Maa Hai’, can safely
know that his Goan fans are with him.
