Saeed Jaffrey passes away…
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November 16, 2015 at 6:19 AM
Master:
Veteran actor Saeed Jaffrey passes away
Indian-British actor Saeed Jaffrey, who starred in many Bollywood films, passed away yesterday. He was 86 years.
While details of his death are awaited, his niece Shaheen Aggarwal posted about this sad news on her Facebook page.
She shared, “Today, a generation of Jaffreys has passed away.
Saeed Jaffrey has joined his brothers and sister and is rejoicing in the lap of his Heavenly Father, eternally. The entire Jaffrey Family bids you, “adieu”, you beautiful, beautiful man See you in heaven!”
Jaffrey was best known for his roles in films like Dil, Kishan Kanhaiya, Ghar Ho Toh Aisa, Raja Ki Aayegi Baarat, Deewana Mastana, Mohabbat, Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, Aunty No 1 and Albela among others.
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November 16, 2015 at 7:40 AM
RIP…
I think his best role was in Ram Teri Ganga Maili. He had some great scenes and dialogues in it.
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November 17, 2015 at 2:11 AM
Agree.. unforgettable acerbic dialogs:
“..Kutta bhi lakh bura ho … wafaadari nahi chodta..”
“..ab dekhna yeh hai ki radha hi varmala bandhti hai Mohan ko ya hari hui rakhail”
“…Bazaaru cheezon se ghar sajaaye jaate ha, basaaye nahi ..”
RIP.
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November 16, 2015 at 8:24 AM
Chashme Buddoor and Shatranj ke Khiladi are two of his best roles. He was fantastic in both
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November 16, 2015 at 8:27 AM
RIP.
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November 16, 2015 at 9:58 AM
Sad news, May his soul rest in Peace, Prayers ….
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November 16, 2015 at 11:13 AM
‘When Saeed Jaffrey wanted something, he would get it anyhow’
Last updated on: November 16, 2015 17:08 IST
Saeed Jaffery and Farooque Shaikh in Chashme Badoor
‘Saeed Jaffrey was one of the few actors who managed to shine in both British movies like Gandhi and Hindi movies like Chashme Buddoor.’
The veteran actor’s friends pay tribute to him.
Saeed Jaffrey worked with the broadest possible range of directors from Satyajit Ray (Shatranj Ke Khiladi) to Kalpataru (Ghar Ho Toh Aisa).
Deepti Naval worked with him in one of his last films, and is deeply saddened with his passing.
“I remember we were shooting for a film called Ghar Ho Toh Aisa and neither of us were enjoying it,” she says. “He was miserable. He told me, ‘Enough. I am going back to London. Ab jo hoga woh dekha jayega’ (Whatever will happen will happen).”
“Look at his range of work,” says fellow actor Om Puri. “It was staggering. He worked with Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor, John Huston, Sai Paranjpye, David Lean and Yash Chopra. He enjoyed his work thoroughly, and it showed.”
Saeed was born in Punjab and was a natural actor. He started a theatre group in Delhi at an early age and went on to flirt with Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams and Christopher Fry.
Saeed then made his way to Bollywood in 1972 with a long-forgotten Rehana Sultan-starrer Tanhai. It was Vinod Pandey’s Ek Baar Phir that brought Saeed into the attention of Bollywood’s big filmmakers.
“Ek Baar Phir was my first film,” says Deepti Naval. “I was new to India and Indian cinema (Deepti Naval spent her younger years in New York). So was Saeed. We hit it off instantaneously. He was very protective towards me. Perhaps I came across as vulnerable, and he saw that. He had a fabulous role in Ek Baar Phir. He played an actor.”
It was the goodhearted paan-seller Lalan Miyan in Sai Paranjpye’s Chashme Buddoor that Saeed obtained maximum recognition in India. It was an instantly likable character and connected with the audience better than any character Saeed had played in India.
“We were shooting in Mumbai where a paan shop had been set up for Saeed’s character,” Deepti reminisces. “When Saaed arrived, he looked around the crowded area, spotted a man walking by in a lungi with the Taj Mahal printed on it. He decided his character Lalan Miyan would wear that lungi. He made that man take off the lungi and wore it. That’s how I’d like to remember Saeed. Vivacious and exuberant as an actor. When he wanted something, he would get it anyhow.”
Saeed hit it off instantly with Raj Kapoor, when they worked in Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Their drinking sessions together extended to another film Henna, which was completed after Raj passed away.
Andrew Robinson recalls in his fine book, The Inner Eye, on Satyajit Ray how Saeed accosted Ray at Beirut airport to be part of his cinema. Ray, who knew Saeed as the husband of cuisine queen Madhur Jaffrey, told him to be patient.
The role happened sooner than expected.
Saeed’s performance in Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khiladi is regarded by many, including Saeed himself, as his finest ever.
“Zia Mohyuddin and Saeed Jaffrey were the first sub-continental actors to make a mark on the British stage,” says Naseruddin Shah appreciatively.
Adds fellow-OBE recipient Gurinder Chadha: “Saeed is a British Asian institution. He was one of the few actors who managed to shine in both British movies like Gandhi and Hindi movies like Chashme Buddoor. The ease with which he performed both roles to perfection is indicative of his breadth of talent.”
“I am sure he is up there entertaining the angels with his anecdotes about all the actors and directors he worked with in Bollywood and Hollywood. If I am lucky, I’d feature in one of his anecdotes,” says Deepti.
–Subhash K Jha
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November 16, 2015 at 4:14 PM
RIP Saeed Mirza.
I liked him in Vijay, RTGM, Saagar and Chashme Baddoor.
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November 16, 2015 at 5:48 PM
RIP
I think he was great in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari
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November 16, 2015 at 6:33 PM
I had no idea he was so old. I have to admit he’s not an actor I really liked too much – I found his dialogue delivery kinda artificial. RIP
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November 17, 2015 at 2:44 PM
Rest in peace.
Love the narrator
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November 17, 2015 at 7:49 PM
RIP
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November 17, 2015 at 10:28 PM
I actually liked Saeed Jaffrey’s unique style of dialogue delivery. But it was in Hindi films that one could note Saeed’s distinct dialogue style. Loved him in Chashme Buddoor, remember him as Lallan Miyan. But in The Man who would be King, he was obviously different as compared to his Hindi film persona.
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