Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor passes away

Veteran Bollywood actor Shammi Kapoor passed away on Sunday morning. The 79-year-old actor was admitted to Breach Candy hospital last week and was on ventilator support.

He was suffering from kidney failure. The funeral will take place tomorrow morning, sources said.

Amitabh Bachchan tweeted, "Shammi Kapoor ji passed away this morning at 5:15 am .. Rushing there now .. the flamboyance and joie de verve of the Industry lost !"

"Shammi ji ... An entire life full of optimism and happy spirit, caring loving to all ... Now suddenly silent," Amitabh Bachchan added.

Born on October 21, 1931, Kapoor was one of the leading stars of Hindi cinema during the late 1950s and 1960s. He made his debut in 1953 with the film 'Jeevan Jyoti'.

Kapoor, hailed as 'Elvis Presley of India', joined the silver screen at a time when his elder brother Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar were the reigning trio. He was a versatile actor and starred in hits like 'Tumsa Nahin Dekha', 'Dil Deke Dekho', 'Junglee', 'Dil Tera Diwana', 'Professor', 'China Town', 'Rajkumar', 'Kashmir Ki Kali' and many more.

With the success of 'Junglee' in 1961, an entire decade reeled under its colourful impact.

Shammi heralded the swinging 60s and a large part of his appeal was primarily due to the immensely catchy and upbeat numbers like 'Suku Suku', 'O Haseena Zulfo Wali', 'Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche', 'Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar Tera' where he was at his boisterous best.

Even though success came with light weight tales like 'Kashmir Ki Kali', 'Rajkumar', 'Jaanwar' and 'An Evening in Paris', his performances in flicks like 'Junglee', 'Badtameez', 'Bluff Master', 'Pagla Kahin Ka', 'Teesri Manzil', 'Brahmachari' silenced his critics.

Kapoor received the Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1968 for 'Brahmachari'.

He also won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for 'Vidhaata' in 1982.

'Andaz', which released in 1971, was his last movie as a leading man but his character roles in 'Vidhata', 'Hero' and 'Prem Rog' were well received.

He made his last appearance as an actor in the 2006 Govinda-starrer 'Sandwich'. He also shot a few scenes alongside his great-nephew Ranbir Kapoor for the to-be-released film 'Rockstar'.