Indian Idol 12: Manoj Muntashir apologises for ‘factual error’ regarding Shammi Kapoor, see his post

Manoj Muntashir, lyricist and screenwriter and a judge on Sony TV’s singing reality show Indian Idol 12, has apologised for a factual mistake he committed on the show’s latest episode.

In the episode, Muntashir, known for songs like “Tere Sang Yaara”, “Dil Meri Na Sune”, “Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga”, “Kaun Tujhe” and also for writing the Hindi dubbed dialogues for Baahubali 2 and Black Panther, had mentioned Shammi Kapoor and his relationship with his late wife and actor Geeta Baali.

Muntashir talked about an anecdote according to which Kapoor applied Geeta’s lipstick to the parting between her hair in place of vermillion to consummate their marriage.

Like all you lovely people out there, I am a die hard hindi cinema fan too. Sometimes fan 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

— Manoj Muntashir (@manojmuntashir) May 1, 2021

While talking to Rauf Ahmed for his book Shammi Kapoor: The Game Changer, Kapoor had said, “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.”

After talking about the anecdote, Manoj went on to say that Shammi Kapoor never married again, but the truth is that he did. In 1969, four years after the death of Geeta, he married Neela Devi Gohil. Their marriage lasted until Neela’s death in 2011.

Muntashir wrote on Twitter, “Like all you lovely people out there, I am a die hard Hindi cinema fan too. Sometimes fan 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).”