Shammi Kapoor, India's answer to Elvis Presley: British Media

British media on Tuesday paid tribute to Bollywood veteran Shammi Kapoor referring to his image makeover as India's answer to Elvis Presley, which led him to super-stardom worldwide. The 79-years-old actor passed away on August 14 of renal failure.

The Times stated, “ Shammi Kapoor's journey to Bollywood stardom began with prolonged and unremitting failure, with film after film bombing while critics savaged his acting, dancing and singing. The mediocrity of his performances and the banality of the movies in which he starred made him laughable - until he changed his hairstyle, reinvented his screen persona, and turned himself into India's answer to Elvis Presley."

Talking about the star of Bollywood 1950-60, The newspaper wrote, “Overnight, he became a star. Kapoor's modesty about his films extended to his own performances in them. He seemed to be proud of his gambolling, flamboyant manner of acting, but despite all the onscreen dancing he never truly mastered the art of dance."

"Film was always in his life, from infancy to shortly before his death," it concluded.