Find Out How THIS Man Transformed Shammi Kapoor in our Exclusive Interview
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor was just like every other member of the Raj Kapoor khandaan in that he enjoyed imbibing. And he could really blow his stack! But then his Guruji, Haidakhan baba, came into his life, and everything shifted.
In a recent video interview with ETimes, Shammi Kapoor’s wife Neila Devi admitted, “Yes, he had a temper.” There were things he just couldn’t stomach. Here’s how I’d put it. He would respond if somebody stomped on his toes. Such incidents typically occurred at social gatherings. He was a heavy drinker back then.
But the next day, to his credit, he asked me to explain what had happened. He evolved gradually.
First, we’d like to show you the interview we had with the lovely Neila Devi. NEILA DEVI’S FIRST EVER ON-CAMERA INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING BY CLICKING BELOW.
The narrative please return. When Shammi Kapoor was drinking, did Neila Devi try to stop her? Neila Devi responded, “He wouldn’t listen about anything, including alcohol and smokes, unless he didn’t want to drink on specific days. He abstained from alcohol, year in and year out, between January 1 and January 21. Geeta Bali became ill on January 1 and died on January 21. After Geeta Bali passed away, he continued to do this every year.
Then, my mother-in-law and Prithviraj ji got sick. He started hanging out with them frequently, so we did, too. For two years, Shammi ji was unemployed. During that time, Raj ji was preoccupied with the production of Mera Naam Joker, and Shashi ji was simultaneously filming four or five features.
Our relationship with Shammi ji’s parents blossomed at this time, and they showered us with many blessings. Being out of the workforce for two years was difficult for Shammi ji. He travelled to Mauritius after the death of my in-laws, and there we met our spiritual leader, whom we call Guru ji Haidakhan wale baba. I had faith in Bhole baba (also known as Haidakhan wale baba) long before Shammi ji did. Before meeting Bhole baba, he had never followed the teachings of any Guru ji. Our whole world shifted after that. Aditya was married in our Guru ji’s ashram, which means a lot to us.
You should also remember that our Guru ji never forced anything on Shammi ji. Although initially sceptical, Shammi ji eventually joined our new path and began attending yatras alongside our Guru ji. After that, he started (nervously) taking on character roles. According to Neila Devi, “He was on the fence about accepting the character roles. The film “Zameer,” in which Saira Banu starred as the lead, was his first acting performance. Saira was the first female protagonist he ever encountered. However, I cautioned him that, as an artist, he has no business even considering such things. His thoughts was conflicted. Then he logged onto the computer; he frequently spent hours there. He even gave up smoking afterward.
Has Shammi Kapoor always been a nonsmoker? According to Neila Devi, “about 100 cigarettes a day.”
Okay, okay, okay…
