Bollywood celebs who worked with Shammi Kapoor fondly remember him

Shammi uncle was, is and always be for me, the epitome of the joy-of-life, positive energy. His big support and anchor in life was Neela aunty and my heart goes out to her at this time. Indians will always be indebted to him for the joy that he brought to our lives. -- Aamir Khan

'He was spontaneous'
He was one of my top competitors after Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. I was a method actor while he was exactly the opposite spontaneous and lively. He broke all methods of acting.

Emotions, comedy, and rhythm he did it in his own way. We worked together in Subhash Ghai's Vidhaata in 1982. All those close to him, including brothers Raj and Shashi Kapoor, used to call him Laale. During the shoot, even I started calling him Laale.

Shammi was the first actor to start the trend of an actor being present at music rehearsals and recordings of songs. Song sequences were so important to him. -- Dilip Kumar

'He aped no one'
Shammi Kapoor didn't need a choreographer; rhythm was within him. His body language, gestures, facial expressions said it all. Every song of his told its own story. He aped no one; he had his own inimitable style of dancing.

It was the Shammi Kapoor dance. My most memorable song of his was O haseena zulfonwali. The sheer energy he exuded and how he got into the groove of every track was admirable. And yet his each song was so unique.

Teesri Manzil is my most favourite film of his. Whether happy or sad, his every song was so memorable no wonder they still remain evergreen. -- Farah Khan

Aamir's connection
Shammi Kapoor and producer Nasir Hussain worked as a team on several movies like Tumsa Nahin Dekha and Dil Deke Dekho. Together they created a new kind of Hindi film hero cool and suave.

Hussain, uncle of actor/producer Aamir Khan and grandfather of actor Imran Khan, was very close to Shammi. In fact, Shammi had even helped Nasir get married. Imran considered Shammiji as his grandfather.