Shammi Kapoor: Enjoyment is infectious

When I first saw the young Shammi Kapoor on Chitrahaar, I refused to believe it was Shammi Kapoor!! For the Shammi Kapoor we knew growing up was a huge man with a beard, who acted in elderly roles. This person dancing and prancing around was hyperactive and did not look anywhere like the Shammi Kapoor we knew. It took some time for me to realize that they were both one and the same. So drastically had Shammi Kapoor changed over the years. (I had this same confusion when I saw a young Prithviraj Kapoor. I thought he was Sashi Kapoor!! The resemblance is very strong.)

During that dark era, where there was only one TV channel, all of us used to crowd into either my aunt's place or at my cousin, Padmini's place, to watch Chitrahaar on a weekday (was it Wed or Fri?) and Rangoli on Sunday morning. While each one had his or her own preference of actors and songs, everyone felt happy when a Shammi Kapoor song was screened. It didn't matter if you thought he wasn't a great actor, it didn't matter if you thought he went over board with his acting or expression, it didn't matter whether the song was subtle or not, whether you liked his antics or not. All that mattered was when the song finished, you could see a smile on every lip. And that is what made him such a favorite across generations. He knew how to make people feel happy. 

Ofcourse I am talking about his best songs. I am sure, given the number of films he has acted, there could be a number of songs which didn't turn out too great but all artists are measured based on their best  creations, isn't it? Why was Shammi Kapoor so successful in making us feel happy. I know this sounds very trite but I think one important reason is that he himself was happy when he enacted those scenes. (I remember a question asked to an editor, "Why is it that when M S Subbulakshmi sings a slokha in Sanskrit, a language I do not know, I still feel the bhakthi?" To which the perceptive editor replied, "If the singer has bhakthi in her, the communication automatically happens.") I would say the same to Shammi Kapoor. He enjoyed those songs, those dance moves, the yelling, and it communicated itself to the audience. Here was aman enjoying himself and asking us to partake in that enjoyment for free. Who could resist that? 

The second aspect was the enormous amount of energy he brought along. That enthusiasm of his was  infectious. Not for him the slow walk, the gentle caressing of the heroine's cheeks, the sidelong glance or a small shake of the head. Let the Dilip Kumars and Rajesh Khannas do that. For Shammi Kapoor every part of the body had to shake. He had to communicate to the heroine that he loved her using every limb and just in case she didn't get the message, shout out the same  loudly. There was no cause for confusion. The heroine, her 'saheli' and the forty three people in the street, everyone knew that he loved her from the bottom of his heart. (And his arms and legs.) Ofcourse I am generalizing but that is the image most of us have of the young Shammi Kapoor.

As tribute to him and the joy he gave us, let us have a look at some of the songs we loved. Given the huge number of songs he had, what I select will be quite less and most probably one of your favorite songs may be missing. If it is, please head to youtube and listen to it.

Let me be a contrarian and  start off with a lovely song, which sort of negates whatever I wrote. A soft, delicate Shammi Kapoor, sing this delicate Kalyani (Yaman) based melody in Rafi's voice. Music by Shankar Jaikishen. Lyrics of Hasrat Jaipuri. From the movie where he made 'Yahoo' world famous, 'Junglee'.

Next we go to the familiar Shammi, the guy with more funny faces than Jim Carey and more dance steps than Elvis Presley. This beauty is from 'Professor'. Shankar Jaikishen wielding the baton again. Lata and Rafi singing the words of Shailendra.

This song from 'Kashmir Ki Kali' was a Chitrahaar favorite, as was "Deewana Hua Badal' which I had posted earlier. Rafi's voice, as Dr.Venugopal had mentioned in the comment of my earlier post, is made for Shammi Kapoor. Rafi matches the freak out nature of Shammi with his voice. Lot of credit must go to Rafi for he was equally responsible for the persona of Shammi Kapoor, as seen on the screen. Lyrics by S H Bihari set to music by O P Nayyar. A nice dimension to Kalyani (Yaman)

And even if he went to Paris or Switzerland, he wouldn't change. Here, amidst these beautiful mountains in Europe, he does what he does best, woo the heroine, the gorgeous Sharmila Tagore. 'An Evening in Paris' is like a walk in the park for him. Music by Shankar Jaikishen. Words of Hasrat Jaipuri.

And when is joined by a heroine like Mumtaz, who can match him step for step and who brings her own infectious charm along, you have no choice but to dance along. This super hit song from 'Brahmachari'. The same Shankar Jaikishen with music, the same Hasrat with lyrics. This time Suman Kalyanpur joins Rafi in this enjoyable song.

When a jazz and rock inspired music director called R.D.Burman happened to come along, he couldn't have asked for a better actor than Shammi Kapoor to try all his experiments on. 'Teesri Manzil' is an all time hit. Every song leaving behind the stamp of RD. It is a pity that RD couldn't work with Shammi Kapoor in more films. For Shammi was as modern as you could get in Hindi films and RD's music fitted him perfectly. Here he croons, 'aaja aaja' to whom else but his love of life. The young R D Burman's music is always a joy and the way he brings in the rock element into 'aaa aaa aaaja' and then the guitar in the interlude is mesmerizing. Rafi and Asha sing the lyrics of Majrooh Sultanpuri. A song in which Asha gets all the space to exhibit her talent for such songs and go one up on Rafi. I would have loved to see Mumtaz in this song but ...

When it comes to R D Burman's songs, it is like potato chips. You can't stop with one. So I give you one more super hit song from 'Teesri Manzil'. Typical R D Burman melody. Rafi and Asha again. Words of Majrooh.

With this let me end this musical journey. As you could have noticed, this post is not about Shammi Kapoor's career. He did lot more movies later as a father figure and all that. This post is about how we all remember Shammi Kapoor as: the enthusiastic, energetic man enjoying live fully and asking us to join him in that ride. Those who give us enjoyment don't fade away so easily. All of us will carry the memory of Shammi Kapoor with us for a long time. May he rest in peace.

P.S.: Special thanks are due to Dr.Venugopal, who admonished me for putting up just one song of Shammi Kapoor in my last post (which was basically on O P Nayyar) and told me that I should do a separate post on Shammi Kapoor. I am glad he said that since I was able to enjoy all these songs as well as all the antics of Shammi Kapoor once again.