Bollywood Legend Shammi Kapoor’s Love for the Limelight Lives On

The pioneering actor passed away recently at age 79.

By Bryan Gerhart Aug 16, 2011

Bollywood legend Shammi Kapoor, whose looks, gyrating dance-moves and beloved popularity made him the "Elvis Presley of India," passed away Sunday at 79.

Born in 1931 in Mumbai, Kapoor came from a family of Bollywood royalty but made a name for himself as a youth idol in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1961’s Junglee, he cemented the image of Bollywood bad boy with his iconic "Yahoo" yell, which the Times of India says "signified the arrival of a rebel star."

Along with his prolific influence on Indian cinema (he’s credited in 119 movies made between 1953 and 2002), Shammi Kapoor was the founder and chairman of the Internet Users Community of India, which was instrumental in spreading the usage and understanding of the World Wide Web in the country.

Kapoor died of chronic renal failure and had been undergoing dialysis three days a week in recent years. He is survived by his wife, two children, and the enormity of his impact on Bollywood films.

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