Shashi Kapoor: A ‘thinking woman’s crumpet’
A gentleman, he embodied a measured and warm kind of masculinity, unthreatened by other men or indeed women
Many obituaries of Shashi Kapoor drew attention to his being a gentleman. It’s hard to think of a star for whom that would be the defining characteristic today and reflects a changing idea of the ideal male both off and on screen.
Shashi was amazingly handsome. His impossibly handsome face was made less daunting by his goofy grin which made him seem less of a ‘Greek god’. So why, among the many words that have been written about him, particularly since his death, was ‘gentleman’ found so often?
The idea of the gentleman has a complex history, yet Shashi Kapoor himself defined the word. He was a gentleman not by birth but by conduct. He was restrained. He did not throw his weight around. Tributes to Shashi Kapoor’s modesty and consideration of differences was reflected on screen where he allowed ample time and space to his fellow actors. He was not afraid to act with Amitabh Bachchan at the height of the latter’s superstardom. Between them the two actors created a dynamic of the broody, disturbed male, wronged and seeking vengeance, balanced by Shashi’s warm, gentle masculinity; unthreatened by other men, or indeed by women. Shashi worked in the mainstream but he also acted with art film makers and in theatre both of which showed his intellectual sophistication and his interest in art even at the expense of money. He also appeared in many quite silly films but always added a dash of style to them rather than demeaning himself.
As Shashi married an English woman, it might imply that being a gentleman means being westernised. Not so. He would’ve made a perfect English gentleman but he could have even been a Hollywood gentleman. Shashi was not at all foreign himself, though he was cosmopolitan, at home in the world.
The male film star is often an ideal of masculinity but although the gentleman may have disappeared in cinema, he has not gone from India. There are many gentlemen in India, in the film industry, in politics, the media and in other walks of life.
Shashi Kapoor was the ‘thinking woman’s crumpet’, to use an unladylike term. The idea of a man who is admirable, kind, soft-spoken and elegant has far more appeal to most women than a display of muscle. With his death we mourn not just only this wonderful man himself but also the kind of measured masculinity he embodied. Is this not an appropriate moment to reflect on and remember what a singular form of masculinity is represented by the gentleman? However much we like today’s stars, we long to see the return of such an archetype. They won’t be Shashi, but they will have much to learn from him.