Shashi Kapoor’s films show his fine cinematic sensibility: Sharmila Tagore

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It was a long day of shooting for Aamne Saamne (1967). Once the shift was over, I insisted that I leave for the day although much of the shoot was still left. Shashi Kapoor, my co-star in the film, took me aside and asked if I had a problem with the others getting paid for overtime. It hadn’t occurred to me that if I had left early, the crew, who worked on daily wages, would be affected. One of Shashi’s greatest traits was that he thought of everyone, and cared about the small things. This also made him very popular with people in the film industry. He would greet everyone on the sets with a namaskar and drink tea with the electricians and the make-up team, asking after them. Today, I am sure that everyone, whose life he has ever touched, will be happy that he has been awarded the greatest honour in Indian cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Shashi was among my favourite co-stars and also a very handsome man. I have worked in 11 films with him, including New Delhi Times (1986), Anari (1975), Paap Aur Punya (1974) and Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973). We have not only been colleagues but also close friends. I stayed on Carmichael Road and he, at Napean Sea Road, not too far away. We would often travel for work to Film City together and would also meet socially — he and his wife Jennifer, and Tiger (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi) and I would often spend evenings together. He was a dedicated family man. While he was sincere on the sets, Sundays were sacrosanct for time with his family. He would always be on time, and was the only actor who was punctual, until Amitabh Bachchan arrived on the scene.