Shammi Kapoor

Shamsher Raj Kapoor, affectionately known as Shammi Kapoor, was born on October 21, 1931, in Bombay, the second son of theatrical pioneer Prithviraj Kapoor and younger brother of Raj Kapoor. Beginning his acting apprenticeship in his father's Prithvi Theatres in 1948, Shammi initially struggled in dramatic and historical films during the early 1950s until he boldly reinvented his entire on-screen persona with a stylish haircut, Western wardrobe, and electrifying rhythmic choreography.

With the release of Nasir Hussain's 'Tumsa Nahin Dekha' (1957) and 'Dil Deke Dekho' (1959), Kapoor ignited a cultural revolution. His defining masterpiece came in 1961 with 'Junglee', where his earth-shattering yell of 'Yahoo! Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe' in the snow-clad peaks of Kashmir shattered conventional Bollywood melodrama, inaugurating an era of carefree, vibrant romantic escapism. Coupled with Mohammed Rafi's playback singing and musical scores by Shankar-Jaikishan and O.P. Nayyar, Kapoor delivered a string of sensational blockbusters including 'Professor', 'Kashmir Ki Kali', 'Janwar', 'An Evening in Paris', and the stylish suspense-musical thriller 'Teesri Manzil' (1966).

Kapoor won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for 'Brahmachari' (1968) and the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for 'Vidhata' (1982). Remarkably, he was also among India's foremost internet evangelists, founding the Internet Users Club of India in the 1990s. Shammi Kapoor passed away on August 14, 2011, immortalized as Bollywood's eternal rebel and supreme entertainer.