Shammi Kapoor’s Witty Remark on Rajesh Khanna’s Popularity Left Ashish Vidyarthi Inspired
Ashish Vidyarthi: Ashish Vidyarthi once received a valuable lesson from the late actor Shammi Kapoor, a lesson he has always remembered. Recently Ashish Vidyarthi has shared this story.
There was a time when Shammi Kapoor's popularity was at its peak. Then, Kaka, i.e., Rajesh Khanna, emerged in cinema. After this, Shammi Kapoor's stars started to fade. How does the attitude of people in the industry change with the change of time? Shammi Kapoor had taught Ashish Vidyarthi a lesson regarding this. Recently, the actor shared that story.
Recently, in a conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Ashish Vidyarthi recalled a precious life lesson he received from Bollywood's veteran actor Shammi Kapoor. Shammi Kapoor had actually given the actor a frank opinion about popularity and fleeting stardom in the industry. He talked about the way the audience and the people of the film industry move on. Ashish Vidyarthi said that a funny comment by popular 60s actor Shammi Kapoor on Rajesh Khanna's stardom left a deep impression on him.
Ashish Vidyarthi said that one day he had a sudden meeting with Shammi Kapoor in Sharjah. He was shooting for his TV series 'Dastan' and Shammi Kapoor had also come there for some project. During this time Shammi Kapoor advised him that the film industry can be very harsh and forms opinions very quickly. Shammi Kapoor had told the actor that when his own stardom started fading, people used to ask him about the decreasing crowd. Then Shammi Kapoor's funny answer was that 'the crowd has just moved on - to Rajesh Khanna's bungalow, Ashirwad'.
This statement of Shammi Kapoor taught Ashish Vidyarthi a lesson about popularity and perspective. Recalling that meeting, Ashish Vidyarthi said that this incident remained with him for years. He told that Shammi Kapoor's message was clear that people eventually move on. Those who once celebrated your success can also move away from you and your achievements depend on your luck. It is important to cherish success, but one should not assume that it will last forever.
Shammi Kapoor's popularity was very high in the 60s. Rajesh Khanna's era began in the early 70s. Then Amitabh Bachchan emerged as the 'Angry Young Man'. Interestingly, Shammi shared the screen with Rajesh Khanna for the first time in Ramesh Sippy's film 'Andaz', where Rajesh Khanna appeared in a special appearance. On August 14, 2011, Shammi Kapoor said goodbye to the world.
