"I called him Shammi chacha," Asha Parekh recalls her first and most favourite co-star Shammi Kapoor on his birth anniversary

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In her hey-hey-ho-ho days, Asha Parekh worked with all the top actors of the era. “But Shammi Kapoor was my favourite. He was everybody’s favourite. When he came into a project, he brought with himself a universe of creativity and not just as an actor. Shammi chacha, that’s what I called him from Day 1, was not only an actor; he was also a terrific filmmaker and musician. Like his elder brother Raj Kapoor Saab, Shammi chacha had a very keen ear for music. A lot of the music we heard in his films was Shammi Chacha’s tunes,” says Asha Parekh who started her career as leading lady with Shammi Kapoor in Dil Deke Dekho in 1959.

Apparently, Shammi Kapoor wanted Waheeda Rehman to co-star with him in Dil Dekhe Dekho. “I have no idea about this. Waheeda is a very close friend. But we’ve never discussed this. We don’t talk cinema when we meet. Dil Deke Dekho was special. It was my first film as a leading lady. I had earlier done films as a child. It was also the film that gave Shammi Chacha his new image as the Rebel Star, the Indian Elvis Presley. People just went crazy over him. They also liked our pairing. We then went on to do Teesri Manzil which was one of the biggest hits of both Shammi Chacha and my career,” recalls the evergreen actress.

Teesri Manzil was to star Dev Anand and not Shammi Kapoor. But, producer Nasir Hussain had a tiff with Dev Anand. Recalls Asha Parekh, “I think Shammi chacha wanted Shankar-Jaikishan to do the music. Nasir saab was keen to give RD Burman a chance. Shammi chacha heard RD’s songs and readily agreed. Our songs in Teesri Manzil like ‘O Mere Sona Re’, ‘O Haseena Zulfon Wali’ and ‘Aaja Aaja’ are hummed to this day. The solo ‘Tumne Mujhe Dekha’ by Rafi saab was very special. It was filmed after shooting was stopped when Shammi chacha’s wife Geeta Bali suddenly passed away. We resumed with this subdued song. I remember we were all moist-eyed while shooting this song.” Asha Parekh recalls a third film with Shammi Kapoor very fondly.

“Pagla Kahin Ka directed by Shakti Samanta is a favourite of mine. Shammi chacha played a man who has a nervous breakdown after his girlfriend ditches him. I played the doctor who heals him. We had an amazing song in the film ‘Tum Mujhe’ . Indeed, it’s impossible to forget what Shammi chacha meant to Hindi cinema. He had his own style, his own rhythm in the songs that he danced to on screen and in the way he led his life.”

Also Read: Asha Parekh Birthday: The veteran actress reflects on her 5 best performances