His body wrapped in tri-colour, veteran actor Shashi Kapoor was given a three-gun shot salute as he was cremated at the Hindu crematorium in Santa Cruz, Mumbai on Tuesday. Shashi was mourned by his immediate family — sons Kunal and Karan Kapoor, and daughter Sanjana. Despite the incessant rainfall, the funeral was attended by several leading members of the film industry and fans who paid their condolences to the Kapoor family.
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Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt were among the several members of the film fraternity who arrived to pay their last respects.
The veteran actor passed away in Mumbai late on 4 December owing to age-related ailments. He was 79.
Having made his debut as leading man in Yash Chopra's Dharmputra (1961), Shashi was part of some of the most iconic films in Hindi cinema like Deewaar (1975), Trishul (1978) and Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974).
The younger generation of the Kapoor clan led by Ranbir Kapoor and Aadar Jain were also present as the family paid their last respects. While Saif Ali Khan was there too, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Karisma Kapoor were not seen at the location.
Speaking about his memories of the late actor, Saif said, "He was a beautiful man. I spent a lot of time in my childhood with Shashi uncle. He worked with Ma (Sharmila Tagore) a lot. He was a wonderful, wonderful person. It is a very sad day."
Amitabh, Shashi's co-star in nearly 12 films, attended the funeral along with his son, Abhishek Bachchan. Amitabh had earlier paid an emotional tribute to his friend and co-star on his blog.
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Salim Khan, one half of the iconic Salim-Javed duo, who wrote some of Shashi's most memorable roles was present to pay his respects to his close collaborator as well.
Shashi's Kalyug (1981) director Shyam Benegal was joined by actors Naseeruddin Shah, Shakti Kapoor, Ranjeet, Tinnu Anand in paying their respects to the family.
In a career of more than 30 years, Shashi starred in over 100 films, while producing several more. In the age of commercial blockbusters and escapist cinema, Shashi defied convention by producing films that were based on sensitive and realistic stories.
His understated and urbane style found expression in his international collaborations with Merchant-Ivory in films like The Householder (1963), Shakespeare Wallah (1965) and Heat And Dust (1983) among others.
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A kind and genial man, Shashi's impact on the younger generation was visible in the strong presence of stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Kay Kay Menon.
The funeral also saw a strong representation from the theatre community that shared a deep affection for Shashi's contribution and nurturing of the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai. Playwright and actor Makarand Deshpande, Supriya Pathak, Sachin Pilgaonkar paid their respects to the family.
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Several other members of the film fraternity like Rohit and Ronit Roy, Mukesh Rishi, Tara Sharma, Poonam Dhillon, and director Abbas Mustan were also seen condoling the passing of the great actor.
Watch Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and others at Shashi Kapoor's funeral below.