Do you know how Shashi Kapoor got his name? Kapoor was born as Balbir Raj but his mother did not like the name and began calling him Shashi - or moonbeam - since he was obsessed with the moon and spent long hours watching it. Shashi Kapoor was born to Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarni Kapoor on March 18, 1938 in then Calcutta. He was given the name Balbir Raj - in keeping with the Kapoor family tradition of adopting the word 'Raj' (or 'king') in its many variations. But Ramsarni was less than happy with the name Balbir and thus changed it to Shashi.

Shashi Kapoor