Veteran actor-comedian Jagdeep, best known for his role as Soorma Bhopali in Sholay, died on Wednesday at his Mumbai residence. He was 81. Many celebrities and fans are mourning the death of the legend.
The actor had not been keeping well. He passed away at 8.30 p.m. at his residence in Bandra. He was not keeping well because of age related issues,” Ali said. producer Mehmood Ali, a family friend, told PTI.
The actor had a prolific career that lasted beyond 400 films and many memorable roles. Jagdeep’s real name was Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri, who started his journey in cinema with the 1951 film “Afsana”, which marked filmmaker B.R. Chopra’s directorial debut. But it was his role in the 1975 film Sholay that remains etched in the audiences’ minds.
In interviews, he recalled how his mother, raised him while working as a cook in an orphanage. Young Jagdeep was eager to help her and at the age of six or seven, he landed on the sets of “Afsana” after being spotted on the streets of Mumbai. The role promised him three rupees as fee, which was doubled when the young actor got to mouth a dialogue.
Recalling his father’s journey in cinema, his actor son Jaaved Jaaferi once said, “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 all he needed was a job. 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.”\
In an interview with PTI recently, Meezaan had called his grandfather a “Diwali firework.” He said, “He is so much like how you see him on screen: fun, energetic and positive. I had a lot of conversations about the film industry with my grandfather, who would tell me stories, his experiences of film shoots more than my father did.”
Jagdeep is gone but for countless fans he will forever be Soorma Bhopali.
Jagdeep will be laid to rest at a cemetery in south Mumbai around 11.30 a.m. on Thursday,
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