Saeed Jaffrey

Saeed Jaffrey
OBE
Born(1929-01-08)8 January 1929
Malerkotla, Punjab, British India
Died15 November 2015(2015-11-15) (aged 86)
London, England
Resting placeGunnersbury Cemetery
CitizenshipBritish
Indian (formerly)
EducationUniversity of Allahabad (BA, MA)
Catholic University of America (MFA)
OccupationActor
Years active1961–2011
WorksFull list
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1958; div. 1966)​
Jennifer Sorrell
​
(m. 1980)​
Children3, including Sakina Jaffrey
RelativesKiara Advani (grandniece)
HonorsOrder of the British Empire (1995)
Padma Shri (2016; posthumously)

Saeed Jaffrey OBE (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor.[1] His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies.[2] During the 1980s and '90s, he was considered to be Britain's highest-profile Asian actor, thanks to his leading roles in the movie My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and television series The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Tandoori Nights (1985–1987) and Little Napoleons (1994).[3] He played an instrumental part in bringing together film makers James Ivory and Ismail Merchant[4][5][6] and acted in several of their Merchant Ivory Productions films such as The Guru (1969), Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978), The Courtesans of Bombay (1983) and The Deceivers (1988).

He broke into Indian films with Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977) for which he won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in 1978. His cameo role as the paanwala Lallan Miyan in Chashme Buddoor (1981) won him popularity with Indian audiences.[7] He became a household name in India with his roles in Raj Kapoor's Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) and Henna (1991), both of which won him nominations for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.[8][9]

He was the first Asian to receive British and Canadian film award nominations. In 1995 he was appointed an OBE in recognition of his services to drama, the first Asian to receive this honour.[10] His memoirs, Saeed: An Actor's Journey, were published in 1998.[11] He died at a hospital in London on 15 November 2015, after collapsing from a brain haemorrhage at his home.[12][13][14] He was posthumously given the Padma Shri award in January 2016.[15]

  1. ^ Nyay Bhushan (16 November 2015). "Veteran Bollywood Actor Saeed Jaffrey Dies at 86". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Saeed Jaffrey, actor – obituary". The Telegraph. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  3. ^ Robert Butler (6 June 1994). "Saeed Jaffrey's passage from India". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  4. ^ John Leman Riley (16 November 2015). "Saeed Jaffrey: Actor whose career took in India, Hollywood and the UK and who worked with Lean and Attenborough". The Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  5. ^ Laurence Phelan (16 December 1999). "How We Met: Ismail Merchant & Madhur Jaffrey". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  6. ^ Mel Gussow (2 January 2003). "Telling Secrets That Worked For a Gambling Life in Films". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  7. ^ Shubhra Gupta (17 November 2015). "From playing Nawab to a paanwala: Saeed Jaffrey straddled roles onscreen with ease". Indian Express. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  8. ^ Avijit Ghosh (17 November 2015). "Saeed Jaffrey one of the best known faces of Hindi cinema in Hollywood passes away". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  9. ^ "The Best Films of Saeed Jaffrey". Rediff.com. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  10. ^ Michael Roddy (16 November 2015). "Actor Saeed Jaffrey was first Indian named to Order of British Empire". The Globe and Mail. Reuters Canada. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  11. ^ Deborah Ross (25 January 1999). "Saeed Jaffrey interview: New kid on the Street". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Saeed Jaffrey, Indian actor and Bollywood veteran, dies". BBC News. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  13. ^ Elaine Woo (16 November 2015). "Saeed Jaffrey dies at 86; Actor exuded flair and versatility from Bollywood to Britain". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  14. ^ Jaffrey Associates (16 November 2015). "Announcement of Death: Veteran Indian-born actor Saeed Jaffrey has died". ResponseSource Press Release Wire (Press release). SourceWire News Distribution. Press Release Wire on behalf of Jaffrey Associates. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  15. ^ "Saeed Jaffrey to get posthumous Padma Shri honour". Business Standard. 25 January 2016.