This week: a Bollywood star and one of France's "immortals"

THE actor Shashi Kapoor, who has died aged 79, was a leading Bollywood actor and producer from the 1970s and 1980s He acted in more than 100 Hindi films and was also a key theatre personality. He also appeared in British and American films produced by Merchant Ivory productions.

His English-language movies included The Householder in 1963, Shakespeare Wallah in 1965, Bombay Talkie in 1970 and Heat And Dust, in which he co-starred with his wife, the British actress Jennifer Kendal, in 1982.

Some of his popular Bollywood films were Deewar (Wall), Kabhie Kabhie (Sometimes), Namak Hala (Loyal Servant) and Kaala Pathar (Black Rock). His co-star in all of them was Amitabh Bachchan.

Kapoor was a member of a family dynasty in the Bollywood film industry.

He was the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor, a veteran of Bollywood and the theatre and began acting aged four in plays produced and directed by his father.

He started in films as a child actor in the late 1940s before making his debut as a leading actor in movies in 1961.

India's prime minister Narendra Modi said Kapoor's versatility could be seen in his films as well as in the cinema, which he promoted with great passion. "His brilliant acting will be remembered for generations to come," he said.

He is survived by two sons and a daughter.

THE writer and philosopher Jean d'Ormesson, who has died aged 92, was a very public face among the usually discreet "immortals" of the prestigious Academie Francaise, the pre-eminent authority on all matters concerning the French language. French President Emmanuel Macron called him a "prince of letters".

A dapper man known for his charm and wit, he appeared regularly on French TV - unlike most other lifetime members of the academy. He was among the rare academicians who might be recognisable to the French public.

D'Ormesson wrote some 50 books and essays, starting in 1956. His last work, Ces Moments De Bonheur, Ces Midis D'Incendie (These Moments Of Happiness, These Fiery Noons), was published last year.

Despite his prolific writings, d'Ormesson was not widely translated into other languages.

He was inducted into the academy in 1973, sitting in the 12th of 40 assigned chairs.

"Immortals", considered as intellectual and literary giants, don green and gold embroidered suits and each carries a sword for formal meetings.

"He was the best of the French spirit, a unique mix of intelligence, elegance and maliciousness," the French president tweeted. "A prince of letters knowing to never take himself seriously. We already miss the eye, the smile, the words of Jean d'Ormesson."

D'Ormesson worked in journalism early in his career and was the director-general of the conservative daily Le Figaro from 1974-1977, then spent four decades as a commentator at the paper.

In an interview with Le Figaro to mark his 90th birthday, d'Ormesson said he had no vocation as a novelist and wrote his first novel, L'Amour Est Un Plaisir (Love Is A Pleasure) "to please a girl" - it did not work.

He said he did not mind being catalogued as a writer of the political right, and "detested" the existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre.

Born in Paris on June 16 1925, the son of an ambassador, d'Ormesson turned his back on a career working for the state or in medicine, despite his father's nudging, and ended up as a commentator and writer.

He was considered highly enough to take part in an informal TV debate in 1992 with president Francois Mitterrand.

He ended up as a must-have guest on numerous TV shows throughout his life, even appearing in 2001 alongside comedian Jamel Debbouze, who helped him out when he was asked to make deliberate grammatical errors, a tough task for the erudite man representing the Academie Francaise, which works laboriously on dictionaries of the French language.

D'Ormesson called marriage a nightmare, but did tie the knot with Francoise Beghin, with whom he had a daughter.

He won numerous literary prizes, including the prestigious Pleiade in 2015.