Indian Idol 12: Manoj Muntashir Shares Anecdote on Shammi Kapoor, Later Apologises for Factual Error

Lyricist and screenwriter Manoj Muntashir recently apologised for a factual mistake he committed on the singing reality show Indian Idol 12, where he is one of the judges. In the episode, he had mentioned Shammi Kapoor and his relationship with his wife, late actor Geeta Baali.

Sharing an anecdote, Muntashir said that Kapoor had applied Geeta’s lipstick to the parting between her hair in place of vermillion to consummate their marriage. Shammi Kapoor, in an interview about his book Shammi Kapoor: The Game Changer, had said to Rauf Ahmed, “When we reached the temple at the crack of dawn, Geeta in her by-now crumpled salwar-kameez and I in my kurta-pajama, it was pouring cats and dogs. With Hari Valia as the sole witness, the pujari (priest) performed the ceremonial rites and we took seven pheras (rounds) of the holy fire and were declared husband and wife. Geeta took out a lipstick from her purse and asked me to apply it on her maang (parting of the hair) like sindoor (vermilion) to proclaim our marital status.”

However, after sharing the anecdote, Manoj added that Shammi Kapoor never married again, but he did. Four years after the death of Geeta in 1969, Kapoor had married Neela Devi Gohil.

Taking to Twitter, Muntashir shared, “Like all you lovely people out there, I am a die hard Hindi cinema fan too. Sometimes fans do commit mistakes unintentionally. I apologize about a factual error in today’s Indian idol episode. Shammi ji married Neila Devi after the untimely demise of Geeta Bali Ji. @SonyTV (sic).”

Muntashir is popularly known for songs like “Tere Sang Yaara”, “Dil Meri Na Sune”, “Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga”, among others, and also for writing the Hindi dubbed dialogues for Baahubali 2 and Black Panther.

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