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Asian cinema: Bollywood
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Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor with fellow Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar. Photo: AP

Bollywood legend Shashi Kapoor, who appeared in more than 150 films, dies at age 79

Kapoor was a member of a family dynasty in India’s film industry

Bollywood icon Shashi Kapoor – a star of 1970s Indian cinema and a member of the Hindi film industry’s famous Kapoor family – died on Monday aged 79 after a long illness, his family said.

Kapoor died at a hospital in Mumbai on Monday evening, his nephew Randhir Kapoor told the Press Trust of India news agency. Another family member confirmed the death.

“Yes, he has passed away. He had kidney problem for several years,” Kapoor told PTI.

Shashi – the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor, a pioneer of Hindi film and theatre – was born in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta in 1938.

He began his career early, assisting in his father’s travelling theatre company and appearing on stage in a production of Shakuntala, a classic Hindu love story, at the age of six.

His Bollywood career also began in childhood and he grew into a matinee idol, appearing in more than 150 films and winning over fans with his charm and suave good looks.

Shashi Kapoor surrounded by other Bollywood actors in 2015. Photo: AP

He debuted as a leading man in Dharmputra in 1961, and his most memorable roles were in such films as Jab Jab Phool Khile (Whenever The Flowers Bloom, 1965), Kabhi Kabhie (Sometimes, 1976), and Kalyug (Age of Downfall, 1981).

Shashi’s eldest brother Raj Kapoor, who died in 1988, was also a famous Hindi cinema actor. Randhir is Raj’s son.

A family member, Randhir Kapoor, said he died on Monday in Kokliben Hospital where he was being treated for a kidney ailment.

Kapoor acted in more than 100 Hindi films. He also appeared in a handful of British and American movies produced by Merchant Ivory productions, run by Ismail Merchant and James Ivory.

Kapoor was a member of a family dynasty in India’s Bollywood film industry. He was the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor, a veteran of Bollywood and the theatre.

The Press Trust of India news agency said Kapoor will be cremated on Tuesday. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.

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