Shashi Kapoor passes away: Filmmakers Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghosh mourn his death, recall fond memories

Kolkata: Directors Aparna Sen and Goutam Ghosh mourned the death of legendary Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor who passed away on 4 December. [caption id=“attachment_4241991” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Shashi Kapoor. Image from Twitter/@htshowbiz.[/caption] Recalling that Kapoor had produced her first directorial venture 36 Chowringhee Lane in 1981, Sen said she still remembers how Kapoor used to take care of every single technician of her team and loved them. “I still remember that against the initial agreement to pay me Rs 30,000 for the film, he had paid me Rs 60,000 when 36 Chowringhee Lane was completed. I asked why he doubled the amount, he said please keep this amount with you,” Sen said. She said she had last met Kapoor two years back. “As he was seated on a wheel chair I went near him and introduced myself. He had a blank look and once I said can’t you recognise the director of 36 Chowringhee Lane, his face lit up.” “He used to call me Coppola, after (film maker) Francis Ford Coppola, while I used to call him Sethji. We knew the end will come, but it was shocking,” she said. Goutam Ghosh said Kapoor was a very charming actor and a wonderful person. “He was a heart throb among the women of our generation,” Ghosh said adding he had once offered to produce a directorial venture of Ghosh’s. “He had been trained under Geoffrey Kendal and was a theatre buff. He used to run Prithvi theatre in Mumbai,” Ghosh said. Remembering how he had met Kapoor countless times in the country and at foreign film festivals, Ghosh recalled, “Once he had made an offer to direct a film under his production, but as I was busy with the shooting of Antarjali Jatra at that time, a film directed by me under Shashi Kapoor production remained a dream.” Kapoor died at the age of 79 at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.