The youngest of the famous Kapoor brothers of Bollywood, he did not have their one defining and enduring cinematic image -- Raj's simple, honest 'tramp' in the Charlie Chaplin tradition or Shammi's Elvis-like jiving, rebellious 'playboy' persona. Shashi Kapoor, however, surpassed both in sheer variety of acting. Be it romantic heroes, 'common man' roles, decadent princes, aging poets and even angels, he brought the same charm and intensity to all of them. Though among his first appearances onscreen were as a young Raj Kapoor in his elder brother's directorial debut "Aag" and the more acclaimed "Awara", his first lead role was a Hindu fanatic in Yash Chopra's bold "Dharmputra" (1961). This happened to be one-off as Shashi, with his copybook good looks, rakish smile, infectious charm, toothy grin and languid drawl, was more suitable as a lover-boy who always got the girl. In this avatar, he once even pipped Amitabh Bachchan -- in "Kabhie Kabhie".

This file photo taken on October 4, 2015 shows Indian Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor receiving a lifetime achievement award at the closing ceremony of the Jagran Film Festival in Mumbai. Bollywood icon Shashi Kapoor -- a star of 1970s Indian cinema and a member of the Hindi film industry's famous Kapoor family -- died on December 4 aged 79 after a long illness, his family said. Pic/AFP