Jennifer Kapoor - born Jennifer Kendal was a British actress who married into the Kapoor family and was the wife of Shashi Kapoor. Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer, met for the first time in Calcutta, in 1956, where he was part of Prithvi Theatre troupe, while she was there, playing Miranda in the play The Tempest , by Shakespeareana travelling troupe. Soon, Shashi started touring with the Shakespeareana Company 3 , and in July 1958 Kendal married Indian film star, Shashi Kapoor. Kendal and her husband were also instrumental in the rejuvenation of Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai, a venture now managed by her daughter Sanjana. Kendal and Kapoor also starred in a number of films together, particularly those produced by Merchant Ivory Productions. They had three children: a daughter Sanjana Kapoor, and two sons, Kunal Kapoor and Karan Kapoor, of whom Kunal Kapoor is an actor and Karan is a photographer.
Posted On : 4/3/2009 11:03:21 PM
Riya Sen [Guru] Reward Points : 93800 Member Since : Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Shashi Kapoor was on March 18, 1938 in Calcutta. This legendary Indian film actor is the brother of another great actors and producer Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor. He married Jennifer Kendal and has two sons Karan Kapoor and Kunal Kapoor, and a daughter Sanjana Kapoor. Shashi studied at Don Bosco High School in Matunga, Bombay. In July, 1958, he married the British actress Jennifer Kendal and they acted in a number of films together, most notably in the Merchant Ivory productions. Kendal died of cancer in 1984. His son Kunal is married to director Ramesh Sippy s daughter and Sanjana to wildlife conservationist Valmik Thapar. Shashi Kapoor started acting in films as a child in the early 1940s appearing in several mythological films. His best known performances were in Aag 1948 and Awaara 1951 where he played the younger version of the characters played by his older brother Raj Kapoor. He debuted as a leading hero in the 1961 Yash Chopra film Dharmputra and went on to appear in over 100 films. He was a very popular actor in Bollywood during the 1960s, 1970s and the early 1980s with his most famous movies include Waqt 1965 , Deewaar 1975 , Kabhi Kabhie 1976 , Trishul 1978 , Satyam Shivam Sundaram 1978 , Kaala Patthar 1979 , Shaan 1980 and Namak Halaal 1982 . In most of his successful films in the 1970s and early 1980s he co-starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan. The actor was also known internationally for starring in many British and American films notably the Merchant Ivory productions, Shakespeare Wallah 1965 , Bombay Talkie 1970 and Heat and Dust 1982 in which he co-starred with his wife Jennifer Kendal. He also appeared in other British and American films such Pretty Polly 1967 , Siddhartha 1972 and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid 1987 . In 1980, Shashi Kapoor set up his production house, Film Valas, which produced critically acclaimed films such as Kalyug 1981 , 36 Chowringhee Lane 1981 and Utsav 1984 . In 1991, he produced and directed a fantasy film titled Ajooba , which had his frequent co-star Amitabh Bachchan and nephew Rishi Kapoor in the lead. His last and most recent film appearances were in Jinnah 1998 , a biopic of Mohammed Ali Jinnah in which he was the narrator and another Merchant-Ivory production titled Side Streets 1998 . He has now retired from the film industry and not appeared in any film since. He has been seen in the limelight at the Shashi Kapoor Film Festival held in Muscat, Oman Sept 2007 . He has lost a considerable amount of weight and looked healthy.
Posted On : 4/4/2009 12:45:22 AM
Siddharth Ray Reward Points : 61200 Member Since : Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Im a great admirer of this actor, who spoke with his eyes....I read the following article that really touched my heart...Hope u like the following piece of information.... Shashi kapoor and Jennifer Kendall met in Calcutta while traveling with the Prithvi Theatre and Shakespeareana respectively. And, after a long and complicated courtship, got married. They would have lived happily ever after, had Jennifer not died of cancer in 1984. Today, Shashi lives with his memories and three talented children who are a living legacy of Jennifer Kapoor - wife and mother par excellence Their closeness was a thing of beauty, of togetherness and then nothing. Twenty eight years must take some adjusting to. But. says Shashi Kapoor, as he reviews life 13 years after wife Jennifer s passing away, I sense her presence often. And the house, and everything in it, is just as it was when she was alive. How did the orient meet the occident in this case? Both Shashi and Jennifer were theatre people and it was their love for theatre that brought them together. Those were the days when the Prithvi Theatre, under Prithviraj Kapoor, was a thriving group. On the other hand, you had the Shakespeareana under Geoffrey Kendall, which had its own standing. Both the groups happened to be performing in Calcutta at the time in 1956. Shashi. The youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor and younger brother of Raj and Shammi Kapoor, was then 18 and doing the dual roles of actor and assistant stage manager at Prithvi Theatre. And then one day, while a performance was on at the Empire theatre, Shashi was peering through the corner of the curtain to check out the audience reaction. My glance fell on this fabulous looking girl who looked Russian. Shashi remembers. Her face glowed pink. I tried to find out who she was and learnt that she was part of another theatre group - one from the U.K. called Shakespearna, and since our contract had been extended they were at a loose end till we vacated the theatre. because they, too, were scheduled to perform there. I saw her in the theatre again the next day, and I couldn t stop thinking about her. So one day, I persuaded a cousin of mine to go with me to their hotel which was close by. I was so shy that I would never have been able to venture out on my own. I d never had an affair and the only girls we were conversant with were from our own family. When we reached the hotel, she was there having dinner with her family. I was introduced to her father and we chatted a while, but she refused to even look up from her meal and I left without having exchanged a single word with her. I was very dejected. But the next day, she came for our play again and later came backstage and invited me for her play to be performed at a city college. You can imagine how I felt. I went. This was my first experience of watching Shakespeare on stage. I did not quite understand the language, Pucca English, but remember how lovely Jennifer looked in the role of Miranda in the play The Tempest . Shashi and Jennifer had obviously touched a chord in each other s hearts: but did not know how to make that first meaningful move. Shashi was too young and too inexperienced, and Jennifer too shy, suffering from the usual constraints a girl faces in such a situation. Says Shashi. I was a real coward. It took me ages to even hold her hand. Seems a little strange to hear the very suave, very charming Shashi Kapoor, who can today charm anything remotely female, saying this. But, I guess, everyone has to start somewhere. One day, he and Jennifer were to go to see a film. Shashi, who had, by then, been spending every free moment with Jennifer picked her up to go to the.theatre. Those days he earned a very small salary and travelled by local train. It was in the crowded train compartment, when the train suddenly jerked and he caught hold of Jennifer s hand to steady her. It had finally happened. But the problem was, as Shashi says, I did not know how to let go of her hand after that During those courtship days I could only afford to take her to small vegetarian restaurants where a puri-bhaji would cost four annas and the height of luxury was a slap-up meal at Gordons for the princely sum of Rs. two or Rs. 2.50 The courtship would have continued indefinitely. as Shashi could not nerve himself to make a declaration of any kind. Then one day elder brother Shammi Kapoor took him to task and told him to bring Jennifer home to meet the parents. But I chickened out because I thought I d be thrashed. Shashi laughs. So I compromised and took Jennifer to Shammiji s place instead and Geeta Bhabhi promptly fell in love with her. A true romantic herself, she d loan us her car and a little money to go out for a meal and a drive . Fed up of her sweetheart s delaying tactics, Jennifer, finally told Shashi. You ve known me for so long and never even made a pass at me. And I m so much in love with you. That did it. Shashi spoke to his brother about Jennifer, who agreed in turn to speak to his father:. His parents, though not exactly overjoyed at the prospect of a British bahu , decided to give them a chance. provided they proved it was not puppy love. But Jennifer s father. the actor Geoffrey Kendall. was a different kettle of fish altogether. He was far from pleased. because, Jennifer, for him, was not only his daughter. she was also his heroine and manager of his company and he obviously didn t like the idea of losing her. He told them in no unequivocal terms that they would have to wait for two years. Shashi started touring with the Shokespeareana Company because they were In need of a male juvenile lead. In 1958, when he asked Kendal once again for his daughter s hand he was refused. But this time Jennifer would have none of it. She put her foot down and told Shashi. I m mature and I want to marry you, let my father keep on refusing. So Jennifer and Shashi came to Bombay and were married in the traditional Indian style in July. 1958. The Kendalls did not attend the wedding. Being a few years older than him, she was so protective of him and looked after him so well. that she became an indispensable part of Shashi s existence. For instance. Shashl, like a true blue Kapoor, loved to eat and drink. But it was Jennifer who d monitor his diet and make sure he looked and kept fit enough to continue successfully in his career as a film star. This woman who meant everything to Shashi, had no secrets from her husband. Except one. She tried to hide the fact that she had got cancer as long as possible from him and continued working for their labour of love at the Prithvi Theatre in Bombay. But, after a long and painful battle, Jennifer succumbed on September 7. 1984. Shashi with a faraway look In his eyes says, Everybody loved Jennifer. She was friends with everybody and everybody she came in contact with, loved her. I ve always had my share of enemies, but Jennifer only had friends. And in this admission lies Shashi Kapoor s acknowledgment of that loving. giving person that was Jennifer Kapoor.
Shashi Kapoor S Family
