Amitabh, Amir, Ambani pay respects to Shammi Kapoor

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Amitabh, Amir, Ambani pay respects to Shammi Kapoor

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Bollywood stars pay respects to Shammi Kapoor, the heart-throb actor of the 1950s and 1960s.

15 August,2011 02:15 pm

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, a family friend, helped carry Kapoors flower-covered body from his home in the upmarket Malabar Hill area of south Mumbai to a waiting ambulance for the short trip to a nearby crematorium.Also in attendance were Aamir Khan and Priyanka Chopra, two of the Hindi-language film industrys leading lights, as well as top politicians and other prominent figures, including the industrialist Anil Ambani.Shammis younger brother, Shashi, who is also in frail health, was among the mourners.The Kapoors are Bollywoods foremost acting dynasty. Four generations of the family have acted, produced or directed in Bollywood from brothers Raj, Shammi and Shashis father Prithviraj to Rajs sons Randhir and Rishi.Randhirs daughter Kareena is now an established A-lister while Rishis son Ranbir is one of the industrys top new male leads.Shammi Kapoor died on Sunday morning at a private south Mumbai hospital after suffering renal failure. He was 79 and had been in poor health for a number of years.The actor shot to fame in romantic hits such as Tumsa Nahin Dekha (Youre One of a Kind, 1957), Dil Deke Dekho (Give Your Heart and See, 1959) and Junglee (Wild, 1961).His energetic dancing style, which transformed Bollywoods innocent song and dance routines into something more raunchy, was often compared to the US singer Elvis Presley, earning him the tag of a rebel.He later became an avid promoter of the Internet and was the founder-chairman of the Internet Users Community of India.