Yahoooooo RIP

August 14, 2011 6:03 PM

The original Yahoo, Bollywood actor (and internet buff) Shammi Kapoor passed away after illness in Mumbai on 14th August 2011. The actor belonged to the Indian film industry's famous family of actors which included his father, Prithviraj, and brothers Raj and Shashi Kapoor. (His first wife Geeta Bali was a superstar in her own right) One of the most popular stars of his generation, also known as the "Elvis Presley of India" he starred in hits like Junglee, An Evening in Paris, Chinatown and Kashmir Ki Kali.
posted by infini (11 comments total)

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posted by Lucubrator at 6:51 PM on August 14, 2011

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posted by Renoroc at 7:18 PM on August 14, 2011

yaahooo!!

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posted by the mad poster! at 7:56 PM on August 14, 2011

Oh, the eyes and the charm. I will have to break out Teezri Manzil this week in memoriam.
posted by acanthous at 8:18 PM on August 14, 2011

Career highlights include his performance with noted thespian and 80's Page 3 girl Samantha Fox.
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 8:27 PM on August 14, 2011 [2 favorites]

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posted by Ahab at 10:24 PM on August 14, 2011

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Not to mention, he was one of the pioneering netizens in India; he had a web (if not BBS) presence back in 1996 itself, when we had mile-long email ID's (think [e-mail], for example, the '12' being assigned involuntarily), and had the choice of either going to a shell-based interface or a dialup that perpetually used to disconnect. Think he established a user group or two, and if I remember correctly, even did regular columns in PC Quest or one of those tech magazines.

Be swooned by his Bollywood charm, but do remember that he was a massive geek at heart; heck, by his own admission, he danced rather badly.
posted by the cydonian at 11:11 PM on August 14, 2011 [3 favorites]

During the later part of his career he gave a sublime performance as an aging Urdu poet in Ismail Merchant's In Custody (1994).

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posted by Idle Curiosity at 11:38 PM on August 14, 2011

Argh. Sorry, In Custody starred Shashi Kapoor, not Shammi. Still a great movie.
posted by Idle Curiosity at 11:40 PM on August 14, 2011

That is sad news.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 12:13 AM on August 15, 2011

(RTFA...) The story of his marriage to Geeta Bali under "her own" is terrific -- she used her lipstick for sindoor! That is such a charming detail -- at once traditional, modern, and sexy -- that I can't understand why I haven't seen it in a film before now.
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 12:34 PM on August 15, 2011