By Kalash Khurana Last Updated:
Late legendary actor, Shashi Kapoor had ruled the Bollywood industry in his times. He had acted in more than 174 films in his illustrious career span of six decades and had received several accolades and achievements. Despite having an illustrious acting career in the film industry, he had always preferred to stay away from the limelight. Shashi had never flaunted his stardom and was known for his humble nature.
While he had captivated millions of fans through his work, in personal life, Shashi Kapoor was enthralled by an English actress, Jennifer Kendal. He had met Jennifer while working with his father, Prithviraj Kapoor in the legendary Prithvi Theatres. The couple had soon fallen in love and had got hitched in July 1958. Shashi and Jennifer were blessed with three children - Kunal Kapoor, Karan Kapoor and Sanjana Kapoor.
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Shashi Kapoor was smitten with his wife, Jennifer Kendal and prefered to keep his personal life away from the media glare. In an old interview, he had talked about how the two will be together in their next life as well. He had added that he feels he's been married to Jennifer for 100 years.
When the interviewer had mentioned how they must be connected from their previous lives, Shashi had said:
"I feel we will be connected in the next life as well. The other day I told this to Jennifer as well that it seems like you and I will be together in our next life as well.”
Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendel's love story and the way everything had panned out for Shashi, in the end, teaches everything about life, relationships, and depression. In another interview, Shashi had said that he had wished of marrying Jennifer the moment he had seen her. Speaking with News Tak, Shashi had said:
"When I saw Jennifer, when I was 18, I wanted to marry her immediately. My parents were shocked expression and they said, 'My god 18 is a bit young'. So I said, 'Okay, I'll wait'. I waited two years, then they asked me 'Do you still want to?' I said, 'Yes' and they said okay."
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Jennifer and Shashi’s paradise faced trouble when Jennifer was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1982, and she lost the battle with cancer and died in 1984. After her demise, Shashi was completely shattered, and it really destroyed him. However, being a man of his words, Shashi had remained single and devoted to his wife, Jennifer Kendal, till his last breath.
In late Shashi Kapoor's autobiography, Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, the Star, popular Indian actress, Simi Garewal had dropped her thoughts about Shashi Kapoor's condition after his wife, Jennifer Kendal's death and had explained that the actor had tried his best to work amid his battle with depression. But he had become 'rudderless' and was unable to find any meaning in his life and his decisions since he had lost someone, to which he had surrendered himself for many years. She had explained:
"Jennifer occupied—or Shashi surrendered to her—a large part of his personality. And they merged. With Jennifer gone, Shashi struggled but couldn't find himself. That vast area of his personality that was Jennifer—now it lay empty. A void. I met him in London over dinner with Ismail Merchant and could see that he was floundering. He was different—not himself."
For the unversed, Shashi Kapoor had died on December 4, 2017, after a prolonged illness.
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