When Shashi Kapoor Revealed Why His Mother Called Him 'Fluky'

Late Bollywood heartthrob Shashi Kapoor once revealed that his mother Ramsarni Kapoor used to call him Fluky. During a 1995 interview, he said that his mother Ramsarni Kapoor was mortified when she found out that she was pregnant with him. She even attempted things like falling off bicycles and steps to abort the child.

Speaking to the FilmiBeat, Shashi Kapoor was quoted saying, “My mother used to call me Fluky because I was unplanned. She had already had four boys (two be­tween Raj ji and Shammi died young), and then my mum and my dad always prayed for a girl. In 1933, my sister Urmilla was born, that was a family, and my parents were quite happy.”

He further added, “My mother found out she was pregnant after five years, which was incredibly embarrassing for her. She did everything she could to get rid of me. Of course, that was in the past, and there was no such thing as abortion. She used to tell me that she was going to keep falling off bicycles, downstairs, and taking quinine, but Shashi Kapoor remained obstinate. There was hope for the future. So I’m a fluke actor, a fluke celebrity, and a fluke individual.”

For the unaware, Shashi Kapoor is the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni. He was born on 18th March 1938. He had three siblings Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, and Urmila Sial. Within a week, Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni lost two sons, Devinder and Ravinder, who were older than Shashi Kapoor. The celebrated actor married Jennifer Kendall and fathered three children Kunal Kapoor, Karan Kapoor, and Sanjana Thapar.

Shashi Kapoor’s cinematic journey

Shashi Kapoor stepped into acting with Raj Kapoor’s 1948 film Aag. His first movie as the lead was Yash Chopra’s Dharmputra. During his glorious tenure as an actor he was a part of several movies such as Kanyadan, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Prem Kahani and Deewaar, Chakkar Pe Chakkar and Kabhi Kabhie, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Trishna and Heeralal Pannalal, Kaala Patthar and Suhaag, Do Aur Do Paanch, Kali Ghata and Shaan, Silsila, Namak Halaal, Pakhandi, and New Delhi Times, to name just a few.