An offended Rishi Kapoor puts an end to uncle Shashi's death rumours

Mumbai: Shashi Kapoor was once again a victim of an internet hoax after rumours about his death went viral on social media on Wednesday. Reports of Shashi being hospitalised were doing the rounds of the social media since morning.

The veteran actor's nephew Rishi Kapoor rubbished all rumours that he was in hospital in a critical condition and tweeted that his uncle was "doing fine".

He wrote, "Uncle Shashi Kapoor is doing fine. Hope this ends all the speculation about him. Some rumour mongering is happening."

Shashi Kapoor is wheel-chair bound and has been suffering from kidney problems for some time now. When asked about it, son Kunal told PTI, "He is at home...Stop spreading rumours. He is (very much) alive and is doing fine."

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.

(With inputs from PTI)