Veteran Indian cinema actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor passed away at a Mumbai hospital on Monday. He was 79 years old and suffering from several health issues related to old age. Some sources said that the actor had passed away from a prolonged cirrhosis of the liver. His last rites will be held at the Banganga in Walkeshwar on Tuesday.
Shashi had lived for the better part of his life at Napean Sea Road, South Mumbai and had a clear liking for it. It could well be why Banganga seems an appropriate place for his last rites.
hashi had received the Padma Bhushan in 2011 for his contribution to cinema, and in 2015, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from then Information &amp; Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley. He was already wheelchair bound then and the function was held at Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre, the centre for performing arts that Shashi had strengthened with his sweat and blood.
This September, when the DNA reporter was dining at his nephew Rishi Kapoor’s home in Bandra, the 64-year-old actor lapsed into moments of deep silence. By way of an explanation for his sudden preoccupied state, he looked up and told us, “Shashi uncle’s health is failing.’’ Our appetites had dissipated after the disturbing news and there was an uneasy silence at the table.