Prithvi Theatre was the late actor's happy place. He passed away on December 4

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 8, 2017)

On Thursday, the open-air Prithvi Café, adjacent to the late Shashi Kapoor’s Juhu residence Janki Kutir, was bathed in yellow and white lights for his memorial service. The large peepal tree on the premises, its periphery a preferred spot for Kapoor where he would sit four days a week, was surrounded by candles, photographs and condolence letters, while the entrance to the theatre was decorated with lamps, banana leaves and a large portrait of the actor-filmmaker who breathed his last at age 79 on December 4.

The café staff served ‘sulaimani chai’ — his favourite drink — to visitors, fans, theatre artists and Bollywood stars for the two-hour service that wrapped up at 7 pm.

Kapoor’s children — Sanjana, Kunal and Karan — greeted guests with warm smiles. “There will be no more condolences. From now on, we shall only remember the actor, the legend and the star with wide smiles,” Kapoor’s eldest nephew Randhir, who turned up with wife Babita and daughter Karisma, told Mirror.

Soni Razdan was the first to arrive at the venue, and greeted Sanjana with a warm hug. Kapoor’s niece, Reema Jain, was among the early arrivals too, with son Aadar and aunt Neila Devi. Kunal’s daughter Shaira accompanied the Kapoor matriarch Krishna Raj. Tara Sharma was seen interacting with Karan, Rajiv Kapoor, Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu. Also present were Sanjana’s husband Valmik Thapar and Kunal’s son Zahan Prithviraj Kapoor. “The front rows were already full when a teary-eyed Rekha arrived inside the Prithvi theatre where the memorial film was being screened. She proceeded to sit on the floor next to Kapoor’s grandchildren, holding onto Neetu Kapoor’s hand,” a guest said, adding that Sanjana delivered a moving speech on Prithvi — her father’s favourite place in the city — and thanked everyone for the “love they have shown papa”. She added that Prithvi House celebrates two special days, which her father always made sure to attend — his father Prithviraj Kapoor’s birthday on November 3, and his wife Jennifer’s birthday on February 28. Now, Prithvi will also be lit up every year for his birthday on March 18, Sanjana said.

Guests continued to file in well past sunset, including Kiran Rao, Abbas-Mustan, Vindoo Dara Singh, Sanjay Khan with wife Zarine, Waheeda Rehman with daughter Kashvi, Padmini Kolhapure, Divya Dutta, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and wife Anupama.

Vivaan Shah came with parents Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak, while actors Kavin Dave, Pavan Malhotra, Poonam Dhillon, Rani Mukerji, Vrajesh Hirjee, Kabir Bedi, Nandita Das, Chunky Pandey, Dalip Tahil, Prem Chopra, Suniel Shetty, Hema Malini, Ahana Kumra, Danny Denzongpa, Anjan Srivastav also paid homage to the late actor. Filmmakers Govind Nihalani, Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohan Sippy, Madhur Bhandarkar and Rakesh Roshan who arrived with close friend Jeetendra, sat in the café for a while after greeting the family, while Gulzar greeted singers Asha Bhosle and Udit Narayan. Maheep Kapoor arrived with Sunita Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia was present too, as was Jackie Shroff’s wife Ayesha. The evening ended with a performance by Naseer’s troupe Motley’s The Father.

The previous day, another memorial had been held in the Pakistani city of Peshawar outside Kapoor’s father, Prithviraj Kapoor’s ancestral house, while in India, artist Ranjit Dahiya paid tribute with a 10-foot painting of the star.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi wrote a condolence letter addressed to Sanjana, revealing that she had been an admirer of the late actor ever since she first saw the Merchant Ivory Productions film Shakespeare Wallah in 1966 in England with her husband, the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. “Your father was a person of enormous charm and warmth that came straight from his heart. At this time of grief, my thoughts are with you,” the letter read.