Shammi Kapoor: The Game Changer

SHAMMI KAPOOR was an absolute original who redefined the profile of the Hindi film hero in the late 50s and cast him in a unique highly individualistic mould. He was a far cry from the self-righteous hero of the time. He broke the existing rules made his own. He became the first hero to break into the formidable cordon of the Big Three of the time Raj Kapoor Dilip Kumar and DevAnand who had dominated the scene unchallenged for more than a decade.As film scholar Dr. Punita Bhatt succinctly avers ShammiKapoor represented the blending of unique elements rooted in time place and his own talent. More important and less appreciated is the fact that ShammiKapoor s contribution like Dilip Kumar s has seeped into the mainstream of popular cinema in India becoming a part of the larger tradition every actor is heir to. About the AuthorJournalist and film critic RAUF AHMED has made a mark in mainstream print film and television media. Starting out as a trainee at The Times of India he joined the Free Press Journal as a Sub-Editor in the early 70s rose to be the Features Editor then Magazine Editor of the Sunday Journal. He later joined The Times of India Group as Editor of Filmfare. During his tenure he was instrumental in relaunching the Filmfare Awards in a new format in 1990. 1n 1994 he returned to mainstream journalism as Chief of Bureau of the newly launched daily The Asian Age Mumbai. After a three-year stint he moved to The Indian Express Group to edit the weekly Screen. He then joined The Zee Group as Founder Editor of a premium film magazine Zee Premiere. In 2011 he was Content Advisor on a documentary Bollywood The Greatest Love Story Ever Told produced by ShekharKapur for UTV and directed by RakeyshOmprakashMehra. The documentary was the opening film at the Cannes Festival in 2011. Rauf Ahmed is the author of Mehboob Khan The Romance of History.