Yesterday, the three brothers met in paradise. Their father, thespian Prithviraj Kapoor, greeted his youngest son, in emperor Akbar style. “Finally, we reunite,” said Shashi, all dimples and curls. Prithviraj replied, “Raj, Shammi and you were immortalised with great songs.”
Bedroom doors suddenly opened in the Kapoor’s bungalow in heaven. Raj came out first, singing ‘Awara Hoon’ . Just before Shashi embraced him, Shammi barged in with full energy, ‘Yahoo, Chahe Koi Mujhe’
The brothers hugged each other and touched Prithviraj’s feet. ‘ Jeete raho ,’ said the father. Shashi then requested, “Since I am new here I want to sing some songs for Jennifer.” Permission was granted.
There was a slight hitch, though. Shashi didn't remember exact melodies or lyrics, though he was perfect at poses and eye expressions. “Can I invite a few others?” he pleaded. “Go ahead,” said Raj.
Soon, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mahendra Kapoor, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, Kalyanji and Ravindra Jain walked into the room, along with lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri, Hasrat Jaipuri, Anand Bakshi and Neeraj, among others.
Six songs flowed. ‘ Tum Bin Jaon Kahan’ , ‘Chale Ja Chale Ja' , ‘Ek Tha Gul Aur Ek Thi Bulbul’ , ‘Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan’ , ‘Ghungroo Ki Tarah’ and ‘Kehdoon Tumhe’ .
“Let's party tonight,” Shashi beamed. Everything was set. Champagne, single malt, vodka, peanuts, chicken tikka, mutton rogan josh, dal makhani, kulfi and paan. Typical Kapoor spread.
Shashi was delighted. “Now that we are all singing, would like to call some more neighbours here in heaven,” he said. Raj invited them on his smartphone.
Dev Anand walked in first, singing ‘ Aankhon Hi Aankhon Mein’ . Rajendra Kumar whistled ‘Baharon Phool Barsao’ . Guru Dutt hummed ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand’ . Rajesh Khanna entered with ‘Zindagi Ke Safar Mein Guzar Jaate’ . Finally Vinod Khanna arrived with ‘Koi Hota Jisko Apna’.
Everyone was in a good mood, but then the bell suddenly rang. Shammi opened the door. A lady in white entered and started singing, deliberately twisting the lines, “Milke bichhadne ko, milte te hain dil yahaan.” It was Jennifer Kendal. What better reunion could Shashi have imagined. “Mere paas biwi hai,” he joked, as the hall resonated with laughter and one of earth’s greatest love stories moved on to the skies.
