10 years ago, Shammi Kapoor went for heavenly abode on this very day, leaving his fans in deep anguish. The actor, who brought a new wave of acting with his ‘dancing hero’ image, was a hot favourite among all kinds of moviegoers. While his professional achievements are known and are quite celebrated, what many might not know is details about his first marriage, with actress Geeta Bali. How he wooed her and the tragic death of the Baaz (1953) actress is worth reading and is very well chronicled by journalist and author Roshmila Bhattacharya in her book, Matinee Men.
Roshmila Bhattacharya narrates that Shammi Kapoor and Geeta Bali worked together in Miss Coca Cola (1955). Shammi was 23 years old then and during the shoot, he fell in love crazily with his co-star. Interestingly, Shammi Kapoor was a Casanova and used to fall in and out of love frequently. But the way Geeta Bali steadied him and gave his life a new meaning blew him away. Geeta Bali, too, began to like him. She even signed a small role in Rangeen Raatein (1956), co-starring Mala Sinha, just so that she can spend time with Shammi.
There came a time when Shammi Kapoor would propose marriage to Geeta Bali every hour! Yet, she turned down his proposal as she had some apprehensions. She had worked with his brother, the showman Raj Kapoor, in Bawre Nain (1950) and with his father, Prithviraj Kapoor in Anand Math (1952). She was not sure if they’d accept an actress as the daughter-in-law. Also, her father was blind while her mother, brother and sister were partially deaf. Hence, they were their responsibility and she found it difficult to commit to marriage. A minor hiccup was also the fact that she was a year older than Shammi.
Shammi Kapoor, however, continued to propose to her. On August 23, 1955, Shammi Kapoor again asked her hand for marriage while they were shooting at Juhu Hotel, Mumbai. This time, she surprised him as she said ‘yes’! However, she had a condition that she wanted to get married straight away. Shammi Kapoor agreed and met his friend and co-star Johnny Walker as he had got married a week before. Johnny, whose real name was Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi, remarked that he had a nikah but since Shammi is a Hindu and Geeta a Sikh, they should go to a temple for the wedding.
Hari Walia, the producer of Shammi and Geeta’s film Coffee House (1957), suggested that they should head to Banganga in South Mumbai as a lot of temples are situated there. By the time they reached, it was 10:00 pm and it was pouring. A priest told them that all temples are closed and that it’ll open the next day at 4 am. Shammi Kapoor feared that if he let Geeta Bali go to her house, she might change her mind. So he took her to his house and waited till morning. At dawn, they went back to Banganga and finally got married. They forgot to carry ‘sindoor’ and with no other option in hand, Geeta Bali gave him her lipstick and told him to fill her maang with it.
Shammi Kapoor then informed his parents that he had brought home a wife. However, his father Prithviraj Kapoor and mother Ramsarni Mehra were away in Bhopal. His sister-in-law, Krishna Raj Kapoor, wife of Raj Kapoor, welcomed Geeta Bali home by performing a traditional ritual. The next day, Krishna gave Geeta six files consisting of details of all the girls that Shammi had dated. Geeta, however, threw it away and looked forward to their future. After completing Coffee House and Mohar (1959), she quit acting. On July 1, she gave birth to Aditya Raj Kapoor. When he was sent to a boarding school, she returned to acting with Jab Se Tumhe Dekha Hai (1963).
A year later, Geeta Bali turned producer with Rano, adapted from Rajinder Singh Bedi’s novel, ‘Ek Chaddar Maili Si’. In 1964-end, she went to shoot for it in Moga, Punjab along with co-star Dharmendra and others. On January 9, 1965, she hosted a party for the unit and the next day, she fell ill.
Shammi Kapoor was then shooting for Teesri Manzil (1966) and he quickly brought Geeta Bali home. She was down with a high fever and it was diagnosed as smallpox. Within eight days, it damaged her face and eyesight. She also slipped into a coma and came out of it on January 21. Geeta Bali looked at him and Shammi told her that he’ll take her to Switzerland to treat her. Sadly, within five minutes, she passed away.
Roshmila Bhattacharya mentions at this point that her last rites, ironically, were carried out at Banganga. Shammi Kapoor naturally was distraught and inconsolable. Producer Nasir Hussain allowed him to grieve. But after many weeks, Nasir went to his house and dragged him to the shooting set. He told Shammi that he will be shooting for the song ‘Tumne Mujhe Dekha’ that very day. Shammi Kapoor naturally protested. Nasir Hussain had said in an interview years later that the actor’s hands and voice were shaking and he was in a terrible state of mind. Nasir Hussain hence assured Shammi that if he’s unable to perform well, he can leave and the shoot will be cancelled.
When it was time for the director to scream ‘Action’, something happened to Shammi Kapoor. He forgot his woes for some time and gave a very nice take. The whole unit was amazed. Director Vijay Anand, however, asked for another take. Shammi Kapoor gave yet another perfect take. After completing the song, Shammi Kapoor shot more scenes and was grateful to Nasir Hussain for bringing him back from the dead.
In 1969, Shammi Kapoor remarried. This time, the woman who won his heart was Neila Devi, who belonged to the royal family of Bhavnagar. Both spent 42 years together and had a wonderful marriage, until the demise of Shammi Kapoor on August 14, 2011.
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