My favorite bloom of the Kapoor family tree,* Shashi Kapoor masters swoon-inducing dreamy charm, rakish grins, noble self-possession, and serious acting chops. Shashi combines sweetness and heft, cheer and conscience, in a way I haven't seen anyone else do. I'm by no means an expert (...yet!), having seen only a handful of his 150+ movies, but I'm already impressed with the range of emotions, gestures, and...what's the term for how actors use their voices? Anyway, he skillfully uses his vast talents in a variety of movies, both mainstream/masala and parallel. (I won't get into his stage work and other theater projects because I know nothing about them.)

Instead of rambling on about a topic I'm still a novice in, let me direct readers to two excellent and very different Shashi Kapoor performances here on Jaman. On the softer, more message-heavy side, Jaman offers Sharmilee, a toe-curling-ly (to quote Carla) romantic look at the pressures and effects of traditionalism and modernization. There are a lot of ideas at play in this movie, and Shashi's face registers them all - as well as the painful struggle of his character to reconcile heart and head, desire and duty. The movie may end in with a typically Bollywood bow, but it twists and turns along the way, bringing up a lot to think about. For a sample of Shashi spice, Do Aur Do Paanch has it all (and Amitabh too!), from theft and kidnapping to romance and a school play, with a dollop of dry winking at the drollness. If anyone can sell the idea that two and two make five, it's these guys.

One notable exception to his commitment even to silly roles, I think, is Shaan. Shaan is the finest, most gleeful masala joyride I've encountered, but somehow he doesn't seem to be engaged in his role opposite frequent colleague Amitabh Bachchan, a pairing that is delightful in movies like Do Aur Do Paanch and touching in the family drama Trishul. Still, there's comic oomph in select scenes (I'm thinking of the clever conversation between Shashi in Amitabh when, thinking they're smitten with the same thing, one is admiring a woman and the other a car), even if elsewhere he seems satisfied to fade into the background and leave the dishoom dishoom to Amitabh.

Jaman member and genius blogger Kaddele has written a guide to some of Shashi's films, starting here
http://sabberblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/guide-to-shashi.html, and a photo comic documenting some of his sartorial triumphs
http://www.missionbas.de/krawatte2/eng_krawattenskandal.htm.
And for those who want a closer look at how he fit in with the other leading men of the 70s, try this great article at EGO Magazine. http://www.egothemag.com/archives/2005/05/hero_1.htm

* If you're new to the Kapoors, you can meet some of them here on Jaman!
Shashi is the younger brother of Raj and Shammi, whom you can see in Desh Premee. Raj's eldest son Randhir Kapoor is the father of current stars Karisma and Kareena. Karisma is on Jaman in Rishtey and Jigar (which I truly cannot recommend that you watch) and Kareena appears in Chameli. I hope someday Jaman will have some of Raj's amazing work (in the meantime you can read about one of his masterpieces, Shree 420, over at the Golden Oldies board http://jaman.com/a/group/0YzN2jV21iK8/discussion/0PLVURsBr3vA/) - or even some by 70s poster boy Rishi (son of Raj). And let's not even start trying to trace all of the stars and film industry giants the Kapoor family has been linked to via romances and marriages...phew!