Rishi Kapoor cancels film shoot to attend Shashi Kapoor's funeral

New Delhi: Actor Rishi Kapoor, who was shooting for "Rajma Chawal" in the national capital, has rushed back to Mumbai to be with his family after the demise of veteran actor-producer and his uncle Shashi Kapoor.

Shashi Kapoor, the romantic screen icon of the 1970s and early 1980s, died on Monday at a hospital in Mumbai. He was 79.

"We are the airport looking at the flight schedule and want to reach Mumbai at the earliest. We might go tonight or tomorrow morning," Shanti Malik, who works closely with the Kapoor family, told IANS on Monday evening.

Malik also said that he doesn't know the cause of Shashi Kapoor's death, and would be in a position to give out details on Tuesday morning.

The younger brother of late Raj and Shammi Kapoor, who were both actors par excellence, Shashi Kapoor started his tryst with acting at the age of four, with plays directed and produced by his father Prithviraj Kapoor.

He started acting in films as a child in the late 1940s. His best-known performances as child artist were in "Aag" (1948) and "Awaara" (1951), where he played the younger version of the character played by his elder brother Raj.

When he grew up, he made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 film "Dharmputra", and went on to appear in more than 150 Hindi films.

Shashi Kapoor, whose nuanced acts in memorable films like "Deewar", "Satyam Shivam Sundaram", "Trishul" and "Kabhi Kabhie" captivated Hindi film buffs, was married to English theatre actress Jennifer Kendal. 

He had three children -- Kunal, Karan and Sanjana Kapoor.