"Shashi Ji and I often had this playful banter"
Saira Banu paid a glorious tribute to Shashi Kapoor on her Instagram profile.
The occasion was Kapoor’s 86th birth anniversary. Banu and Kapoor worked together in Koi Jeeta Koi Haara (1976).
In a lengthy post, Banu reminisced about several incidents involving Kapoor. She also called him a “dear friend”.
The actress, who is the wife of the legendary Dilip Kumar, posted a series of pictures of her and Kapoor together. She wrote:
“The Kapoors and my family go way back in time through the bonds of fate and the shared love for cinema, forming a connection that went beyond mere acquaintanceship.
“It started with the childhood bond that Dilip Sahib and Raj [Kapoor] Ji shared, and my beloved mother, Appaji, who had worked with Prithviraj Kapoor in the past.
“I can still vividly recall when I was to debut in the film industry, Yash [Chopra] Ji wanted to cast me and Shashi Ji in Dharmputra.
“At that point in time, as luck would have it, Appaji went ahead with Junglee, where I worked with Shammi [Kapoor] Ji instead of Shashi Ji.
“Despite the ebb and flow of our individual projects, our paths always seemed to converge, our shootings would often get scheduled in the same studio, where Shashi Ji and I would run into each other, and on days we would have lunch in the makeup room.
“Later, we worked on films like Koi Jeeta Koi Haara and Sadiyon Se Hai Pyaar, and I must admit those were more than just cinematic ventures.
“When the casting of Shagird was to be done, Subodh [Mukherjee] suggested that Shashi Ji and I must work in this film instead of Joy Mukherjee.
“But unfortunately as luck would have it, Shashi Ji’s role was taken up by Joy Mukherjee again.”
Saira Banu also mentioned a sweet incident regarding Kapoor’s love for biscuits.
She continued: “I also recall, a very sweet incident, not many would know but Shashi Ji loved Kayani’s Shrewsbury biscuits – he just savoured the entire pack of these biscuits all at once.
“When I was shooting for Purab Aur Paschim, our shoot was set up in Poona, at Raj Ji’s huge farm.
“As soon as Shashi Ji knew about this, he immediately came to me and said, ‘Saira, please get me Shrewsbury biscuits from there’.
“I always reciprocated his request with large packets of Shrewsbury biscuits no matter how busy I was with shooting.
“There are a few things you never forget about people, especially when you make them happy with the smallest of gestures, and for Shashi Ji, it was a packet of Shrewsbury biscuits.
“Shashi Ji and I often had this playful banter, especially when it came to musical numbers.
“He would laughingly say, ‘Look, this beat is offbeat’.
“This banter is something that remains until the end of time. Happy Birthday, dear friend! With love and fond memories.”
Saira Banu’s nostalgia attracted several positive comments from users.
One commented: “Happy birthday to a beautiful person. Love reading these anecdotes.”
Another added: “Thanks for sharing the beautiful memories.”
A third fan said: “Shashi Ji was one of a kind! You were very lucky to know him, ma’am.
“Thank you for sharing beautiful memories, about him, with us. Sending love.”
Shashi Kapoor was known for his roles in films including The Householder (1963), Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), Deewaar (1975) and Namak Halaal (1982).
He featured in over 12 films with Amitabh Bachchan.
In 1991, he directed the fantasy film Ajooba.
Kapoor passed away on December 4, 2017, at the age of 79 due to kidney and liver issues.
It was refreshing and charming for fans of Bollywood’s classic era to see Saira Banu pay such a thoughtful tribute to Shashi Kapoor.
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