A Beginner’s Guide to Shashi Kapoor’s Extraordinary Parallel Films
Written By
Harshit Bansal

Junoon

Produced by & starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by Shyam Benegal‍
Based on Ruskin Bond’s novella A Flight of Pigeons, Junoon is set during the 1857 War of Independence, where an Indian Nawab’s obsessive desire for a young Anglo-Indian woman clashes with her mother’s defiance.

Kalyug

Produced by & starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug, a modern-day retelling of the Mahabharata, portrays the bitter rivalry between two industrialist families torn apart by greed and power.

36 Chowringhee Lane

Produced by Shashi Kapoor & Starring Jennifer Kendal
Directed by Aparna Sen‍
Marking the directorial debut of Aparna Sen, this film is a poignant portrait of loneliness. It follows Violet Stoneham, an aging Anglo-Indian teacher in Calcutta, who finds fleeting companionship in a former student and her lover.

Vijeta

Produced by and starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by Govind Nehlani
A coming-of-age drama, Vijeta follows Angad, a confused teenager caught between his parents’ troubled marriage, who discovers purpose by training to be a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force.

Utsav

Produced by and co-starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by Girish Karnad
Utsav tells the story of Vasantasena, a courtesan who hides in the home of poor Brahmin Charudatta while escaping a king’s brother-in-law, only to fall in love with him.

New Delhi Times

Starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by Romesh Sharma
When a politician is murdered, a fearless journalist uncovers a conspiracy that links the killing to powerful leaders, exposing corruption, violence, and attempts to silence the truth.

In Custody

Starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by Ismail Merchant
Ismail Merchant’s In Custody follows an aging Urdu poet and a young lecturer whose shared love for language leads to both admiration and conflict, highlighting Urdu’s fading legacy in modern India.

The Householder

Starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by James Ivory
The Householder tells the story of Prem, a young teacher navigating the challenges of an arranged marriage. The film also marked the debut of the legendary Merchant-Ivory collaboration.

Shakespeare Wallah

Starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by James Ivory
Shakespeare Wallah follows a family troupe of English actors touring India, performing Shakespeare as they witness a country changing around them. The story is inspired by the real-life experiences of Kapoor’s wife Jennifer Kendal’s family .

Bombay Talkie

Starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by James Ivory
Bombay Talkie tells the story of an English novelist who travels to Bombay to see her book adapted into a film, sparking romantic entanglements with the leading man while the screenwriter pursues her.

Heat and Dust

Starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by James Ivory
This film follows Anne as she investigates the scandalous life of her grand-aunt Olivia, uncovering secrets that make her reflect on her own choices. Nominated for Palm d’or & several BAFTA awards, this film explores love, desire, and cultural collisions in colonial and post-colonial India.

Sammy and Rosie Get Laid

Co- starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by Stephen Frears
This film follows an unconventional London couple whose free-spirited lives are shaken when Sammy’s father, a former Indian minister, comes to stay.

Siddhartha

Starring Shashi Kapoor
Directed by Conrad Rooks
Siddhartha follows a young man’s spiritual journey through asceticism, desire, and self-discovery, adapted from Hermann Hesse’s Nobel Prize-winning novel. The film’s striking visuals were shot by Sven Nykvist, the legendary cinematographer behind Ingmar Bergman and Andrei Tarkovsky’s masterpieces

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