When Shashi Tharoor Took Condolence Calls in His Stride

Veteran actor-filmmaker Shashi Kapoor, the romantic screen icon of the 70s and early 80s, died on Monday at a hospital in Mumbai. But Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he was getting condolence calls.

"We're getting condolence calls in the office. Reports of my demise are, if not exaggerated, at least premature. #ShashiKapoor," Tharoor tweeted on Monday.

The mistake happened after a news channel's Twitter handle wrote Shashi Tharoor instead of Shashi Kapoor, who was 79.

But the politician has "no problem" as "mistakes happen. Glad to be able to crack a smile at a tragic moment".

Tharoor even paid tribute to the youngest son of late Prithviraj Kapoor and brother of late Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor.

"I feel a part of me is gone. A great actor, smart, cosmopolitan, impossibly handsome and w/a name that was often confused w/mine. (My office got two calls from journalists today about my reportedly serious ill-health!) I will miss Shashi Kapoor. Condolences to his family and all his fans," he tweeted.

IANS