It was a summer I would never forget. We were at my sister-in-law (Mrs Krishna Raj Kapoor)’s maika. Her father was the then IGP of police of Rewas state.
Every year, bhabhiji would go to her maika and one of us would accompany her. That year, I went along. I had just passed my matric — I was around 16. It was very hot, so her younger brother Rajendranath, who later went on to become one of my closest friends and who acted with me in many films — and I would go swimming. We would jump into the wild river with one of those broad tyres and swim for a good two hours. That is how I learned to swim.
Every day at 6 am, police horses would be brought to the house for Rajendranath to go riding. When I was there, one was sent for me too. It is very tough to ride a police horse, especially when you are a light boy of 16. But we would go riding across the plains. On one of our rides, there was an Alsatian dog that began to chase us. The horses started to run. While Rajendranath veered to the other side, I went down a steep gully which turned out to be a dead end. I went flying over the head of my horse and smashed onto the top of the barricade at the end. I must have passed out for a few minutes.
Someone shooed away the dog, and I regained my senses. I stood up, took the reins of the horse, and even it, I’m sure, thought I was going to lead it back home. But I clearly remember what I did next. I put my foot in the stirrups, and mounted the horse again. And I rode him back to the house.
The incident has stayed with me all my life — life is full of falls, but the important thing is to get back on the horse and ride it again. If you develop a fear of failure, you will never really learn anything.
The first lesson of fame is always humility. But I never understand it when people try to act shy of, or deny, their achievements. I feel very proud of my achievements. Just the other day, I was watching Junglee on one of my iPods, and I saw the part where I slid down the snow slope in a song, and I felt so proud of myself , because the director had not asked me to do that. Enjoying and accepting fame is as important as being humble.
I am also always curious to accept change. When there’s a new car, I’m the first to go and open up the carburetor. When there’s a new musical instrument, I want to know how it works. My niece, Ritu (Nanda) brought a computer home in 1988. I was determined to get one just like it at a time when it was only available to defence establishments. And it became my hobby. I was completely self-taught. The Times of India once said of me, ‘When the mouse came to Shammi’s hand, the cigarette flew out.’ It’s true. I stopped smoking, drinking. I started learning, thinking. Showbiz today is so competitive. Because it’s all about the money.
Shah Rukh is the best, so he’s the richest. When Mr Bachchan doesn’t have a film here, he will take a troupe and tour other countries. And the endorsements...! But, never forget that whatever you spend money on, no matter how many girls in bikinis you put on screen, the script and good dialogues — that is the core of the movie.
The most important thing in life to me was my wife, Geeta Bali. She died at the wrong time. I was at the peak of my career, starting a new innings with Nasir Hussain. She had no business dying when she did. But with bad comes good. Towards the end of my career, came my wife Neela. I had known her all my life. I would travel to Bhavnagar with my father’s troupe and she and her family would come to watch. Then, years later they shifted to Vile Parle and I watched her grow up. Nasir and I would go to her house and sit with her father and talk shikaar. Life always comes full circle.
(As told to Gayatri)
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