Happy Birthday Shammi Kapoor: Naseeruddin Shah to Aamir Khan - What these celebs said about the ‘Rebel Hero’

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah is known to speak his mind without mincing his words. And according to the critically acclaimed actor, Shammi Kapoor was his favourite. ""Whenever I am asked who my favourite actors are, I say Shammi Kapoor and Dara Singh. People expect me to say Balraj Sahni and Dilip Kumar. I admire them too but Dara Singh and Shammi Kapoor were my favourites," shared the actor during a literary festival.

He further added, "Shammi Kapoor is the man who gave a form to song picturisation in India, what men should do in a song. Post Shammi Kapoor, every actor has done a Shammi Kapoor or tried to do a Shammi Kapoor and every choreographer has tried to make them do a Shammi Kapoor".

Actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha in one of his tweets said that Shammi Kapoor deserves the title of ''Elvis Presley of India'.  "Remembering the legend and the super energetic actor Shammi Kapoor who carved an extraordinary niche for himself... Especially for his grooving dancing style," Shatrugan had tweeted.

He further wrote that the actor "was ahead of his times in everything and was the first among contemporaries to have mastered the Internet. He was truly deserving of the title ‘Elvis Presley of India'. You live among us with your unforgettable songs, dances and movies! RIP."

Raj Kapoor's son and Shammi Kapoor's nephew - actor Rishi Kapoor has been full of praise for his uncle. In a tweet Rishi Kapoor had called Shammi an 'original Rebel Hero' and in another tweet had written, 'Never a star like him'.

"Shammi Kapoor is said to be India’s answer to Elvis Presley, but I say that Elvis Presley is America’s answer to Shammi Kapoor," Aamir Khan had said about Shammi Kapoor.

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai said, "Shammi Kapoor changed the image of the Hindi film hero from sad and brooding into one who revelled in singing and dancing".

Actor Rishi Kapoor's son was all praises for Shammi Kapoor who had done a cameo in his film Rockstar. In an interview, Ranbir revealed Shammi Kapoor called him a day before his shooting commenced and told him that he was nervous. He also shared that he would often ask director Imtiaz Ali if he is performing fine and it is this quality of humility and hard work that makes him a legend, according to Ranbir Kapoor.