NEW DELHI: Veteran film actor and producer Shashi Kapoor, who charmed his way in Bollywood as an actor with his unique mannerisms, will receive the 46th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2014.
The award is conferred by the Central Government for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema. The award consists of a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs and a shawl.
The award is given on the basis of recommendations of a Committee of eminent persons set up by the Government for this purpose. This year, a five member jury consisting of eminent film personalities, after due deliberations, unanimously recommended Kapoor for the prestigious award.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley conveyed his congratulations on the occasion.
Born on 18 March 1938, Shashi Kapoor is the youngest son of the late Prithviraj Kapoor and the youngest brother Raj Kapoor, both of whom have also been conferred this award. While Prithviraj Kapoor received this award in 1972, Raj Kapoor received it in 1988.
Shashi, who hails from arguably the largest film family in the world, started acting from the age of four, He acted in plays directed and produced by his father while travelling with Prithvi Theatres. 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 his elder brother Raj. Shashi also worked as assistant director in the 1950s.
Shashi made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 BR Chopra film Dharmputra and went on to appear in more than 175 Hindi films, some of them made by his brother Raj under the banner RK Films among them Satyam Shivam Sundaram. He was a very popular actor in Bollywood during the 60s, 70s and until the mid 80s.
Shashi was one of India’s first actors to go international. He is known internationally for starring in many British and American films and the team of producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory starred him in The Householder (1963), Shakespeare Wallah (1965), Bombay Talkie (1970) and Heat and Dust (1982). He also starred in other British and American films such as Siddhartha (1972) and Muhafiz (1994). His last film as actor was in 1998 in the English Side Streets and also was the narrator the same year for the feature Jinnah.
In 1978, Shashi set up his production house Film Valas, which produced critically acclaimed films such as Junoon (1978) which starred his wife Jennifer Kendall, who was well-known on the British theatre scene, Kalyug (1981), 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), Vijeta (1982) which introduced his son Kunal and Utsav (1984). He also produced and directed a fantasy film titled Ajooba, which had Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor in the lead role. Jennifer passed away in 1984.
He also set up Prithvi Theatres in Mumbai to promote theatre as his father had always been a theatre actor along with acting in films. Prithvi Theatres is managed by Shashi’s daughter Sanjana.
Shashi was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2011. He is also a recipient of three National Film Awards.
