Trivial Pursuit 152

Geoffrey Kendal as 'Macbeth'

Once, during one of his visits to India, Mr. Geoffrey Kendal visited a College with his theatre group ‘Shakespeareana’. 

During his visit, Mr. Kendal initiated the 'Kendal Cup for Dramatics' to be presented to the Best Actor of the year.

In his second year in College, ‘X’ won the 'Best Actor Cup' for the play ‘Government Inspector’ by Nikolai Gogol, the great Russian playwright.

Some years later, when 'X' was a struggler in Mumbai, he took the job of an ‘extra’ in the Merchant Ivory Production ‘Shakespearewala’ (1965), as he was hungry and did not have the money to feed himself. 

A funeral scene was being picturised at the sea rocks off Bandra Band Stand. 

'X' was a part of the funeral party that had come to mourn the death of the film’s 'Hero' Shashi Kapoor.

Mr. Shashi Kapoor was not supposed to be there at the shoot but somehow he was there and he spotted 'X'. 

He pushed him out of the crowd, scolded him with "Are you mad !
You have bigger things in store for you, don’t do this", and walked away. 

Later, he had that entire scene edited from the film. 

Mr. Shashi Kapoor’s words ultimately proved prophetic as 'X' went from relative obscurity to become one of the biggest names in Hindi Cinema. 



Identify 'X'.






Additional Trivia :

                                                Laura Liddell as 'Lady Macbeth'                                           

Shashi Kapoor is the son-in-law of Laura Liddell and Geoffrey Kendal. 

Shashi Kapoor's wife Jennifer Kendal was the eldest daughter of 
Laura Liddell and Geoffrey Kendal.