Love story of Shashi Kapoor

Their love story is nothing short of a romantic movie, Shashi Kapoor remained devoted to his beloved wife till the day he died

We have seen all kinds of love stories in Bollywood films and witnessed some of them in real life too. Talking about real-life Bollywood couples, several love stories from the past have grabbed everyone’s attention and become etched in our hearts. Even though those couples are no longer with us, everyone remembers their love story and still talk about it. One such love story is that of Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal. It is the perfect example of what true love looks like and what is it to lose a partner?

Shashi Kapoor was a heartthrob of his time. Millions of girls were crushing on him and many wanted to marry him. But the one girl who stole his heart was Jennifer Kendal.

Talking about their first meeting, the couple met at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai. According to Jennifer’s sister Felicity Kendal’s autobiography White Cargo, this is where their love story started. It is said that Shashi took Jennifer backstage and by the next afternoon they were in love.

Like many love stories, even their love story faced several ups and downs. In the beginning, Jennifer’s father was against their relationship. Reportedly his behaviour towards Shashi was nasty but that did not stop him from loving Jennifer and their love grew stronger with each hurdle.

According to Shashi Kapoor’s biography written by Aseem Chhabra, it is said that there was a time when both Shashi and Jennifer did not even have food to eat but Jennifer’s father still did not give them his consent for months. After a lot of struggle and failure, Shashi finally asked his brother Raj Kapoor for help.

Shashi Kapoor is remembered for his charming, beautiful looks that could melt hearts. In a career spanning over six decades, he produced films – Indian and international, revived his father’s legacy – Prithvi Theatre, and of course, performed exceptionally well as an actor in some of the most popular films in the 1960s and 1970s

It is said that Raj sent 2 tickets for Mumbai and it was his wife Geeta Bali who met Jennifer for the first time and gifted her a dupatta. In July 1958, 20-year-old Shashi Kapoor and 25-year-old Jennifer Kendal got married. They have three children together, sons Karan and Kunal, and daughter Sanjana. Together, they started the Prithvi Theatre in Bombay in 1978. But looks like God had other plans.

In 1983, Jennifer was diagnosed with colon cancer and she spent the last months of her life in her home in Britain. She died in 1984, leaving Shashi devastated. It was after this that Shashi Kapoor seemed lost to everyone and appeared different as he struggles to live after the death of his better half. Although their love story had a tragic end, it is still remembered and touted as one of the most romantic real-life love stories.