Shashi Kapoor's family rubbishes health rumours, says actor all hale and hearty

Mumbai: Veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor was doing fine, his family said as it rubbished rumours that he was in hospital in a critical condition.

Reports of Shashi being hospitalised were doing the rounds of the social media since morning.

When asked about it, son Kunal told PTI, "He is at home...Stop spreading rumours. He is (very much) alive and is doing fine." 

His nephew and actor Rishi Kapoor also dismissed the rumours, tweeting, "Uncle Shashi Kapoor is doing fine. Hope this ends all the speculation about him. Some rumour mongering is happening." 

The 78-year-old legend is the younger brother of iconic actors Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor. The actor-filmmaker is wheel-chair bound and has been suffering from kidney problems for some time now.

Born on March 18, 1938, to the illustrious and formidable theatre and film actor Prithviraj Kapoor, Shashi hit the spotlight at the age of four acting in plays directed and produced by his father. He started acting in films as a child in the late 1940s.

His best known performances as a child artist were in "Aag" (1948) and "Awaara" (1951), where he played the younger version of the character played by Raj Kapoor. He also worked as assistant director in the 1950s.

Shashi made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 film "Dharmputra" and went on to appear in more than 116 movies during 60s, 70s and until the mid 80s.

Some of his memorable films include "Deewar", "Kabhie Kabhie", "Namak Halal" and "Kaala Pathar".

He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2011 and the Dadasaheb Phalke award last year.