Veteran Bollywood actor Saeed Jaffery passes away

Saeed Jaffery was suffering from age-related ailments. He was married to co-actress and travel writer Mehrunima (Madhur Jaffrey), but they parted ways in 1965. Together they have three daughters Meera, Zia and Sakina – who is also an actress. Prime Minister’s Office also tweeted about Saeed Jaffrey’s demise.

One of the most accomplished actors of his time, Jaffrey started his career in All India Radio before moving to America as a Fulbright scholar where he studied drama from The Catholic University of America.

He was the first Indian to take Shakespearean plays on a tour to the US, which he left to marry his first wife Madhur Jaffrey. He starred in as many as 100 Hindi films, including acclaimed projects like Satyajit Ray’s “Shatranj Ke Khiladi” opposite Sanjeev Kapoor.

He credited Ray for bringing him back to Indian films. His famous Bollywood outings include “Chashme Buddoor”, “Masoom”, “Kissi Se Na Kehna”, “Mandi”, “Mashaal” “Ram Teri Ganga Maili”, “Ram Lakhan”, “Ajooba” and “Henna” among many others.

Jaffrey’s international career saw him working with Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Roshan Seth, James Ivory, Richard Attenborough and Daniel Day-Lewis. His noted international films are “The Man Who Would Be King”, “Death on the Nile”, “Sphinx”, “The Jewel in the Crown”, “A Passage to India”, “My Beautiful Laundrette”, “The Deceivers”, “After Midnight”, “On Wings of Fire” and “Chicken Tikka Masala”.

Jaffrey received a BAFTA nomination for “My Beautiful Laundrette”. He is also the first Indian to receive the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to drama.