HINDI cinema stars, fans mourn the demise of iconic comedian JAGDEEP

Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jaffrey, known to filmgoers as his stage name Jagdeep, will be remembered as a successful comedian in more than 400 films even after his demise on Wednesday, July 08 at his Bandra residence in South Mumbai. He succumbed to age-related ailments and was laid to rest on Thursday at Bandra cemetery in the presence of several Bollywood biggies. Born at Datia in Madhya Pradesh 81 years ago, movie bugs pay tribute to him for his memorable performances in several films including as Soorma Bhopali in the multi starrer blockbuster Bollywood movie Sholay and recall the dialogue “Mera naam Soorma Bhopali aise hi nahi hai” Jagdeep debuted in the film industry as a child artiste and was seen in films like Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin, KA Abbas’ Munna and Guru Dutt’s Aar Paar. His active career spanned over close to six decades. He also directed a film titled Soorma Bhopali based on his own character from Sholay. He played the central role in the movie. Jagdeep was seen in popular films like Feroze Khan starrer Qurbani and Amitabh Bachchan starrer Shehenshah. In the 90s, he played the role of Salman Khan’s father in comedy Andaz Aapna Aapna. He played the character of Bankelal in the Rajkumar Santoshi directorial. Madhuri Dixit remembered Jagdeep saying, “Jagdeep sahab was an actor par excellence & his on-screen presence is unmatched. He was a gentle soul and he told us lovely stories of the black & white era. Thank you for the decades of laughter & entertainment, My heartfelt condolences to Jaaved & your family”. Ashutosh Gowariker, noted fil maker, has tweeted, “Paise? Aise kaise paise maang rahe ho!” #Jagdeep ji’s THIS line from Sholay, is one of his many, that I use even today, in his inimitable style! King of COMIC TIMING & VOICE MODULATION! RIP Sir! Man bowing deeply. Deepest condolences to Javed-Naved & family. He is considered the last of the Bollywood’s comic icons in the tradition of seniors Johnny Walker and Mehmood. Jagdeep had debuted in cinema with the 1951 film Afsana, the maiden movie directed by BR Chopra. Jagdeep’s son Javed Jaffrey said in an interview “My father was a child when he was looking for a job after partition. When someone asked him if he wanted to work in films, he said he is need of a job of any kind. He was chosen from the streets to star in a film as a child actor. He was destined to be in the industry, it was fate.” (Image courtesy: News18)