Veteran actor Jagdeep dies at 81

Veteran film actor and comedian Jagdeep, among the last survivors from the golden age of Hindi cinema, died in Mumbai last evening. He was 81.

Jagdeep is survived by sons Jaaved Jaaferi and Naved Jafri. He will be laid to rest tomorrow.

Born Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri in the erstwhile Central Provinces and Berar in 1939, Jagdeep started acting in the early 1950s as a child artiste in films like Madhubala (1950), Afsana (1951) and Sazaa (1951) and continued to do so regularly until the 2000s, acting in almost 400 movies.

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While later generations know of Jagdeep primarily as a comedian with impeccable timing, he also played romantic leads as a young man.

His most popular roles were as the braggart trader Soorma Bhopali in Ramesh Sippy’s classic Sholay (1975) and Bankelal Bhopali, father of Salman Khan's character, in Rajkumar Santoshi’s cult madcap comedy Andaz Apna Apna (1994). However, film aficionados and those of earlier generations will also remember him as the quick-witted shoeshine boy Lalu Ustad in Bimal Roy's classic Do Bigha Zamin (1953).

Jagdeep was last seen on the big screen in Gali Gali Chor Hai (2012), starring Akshaye Khanna.

Jagdeep started life in abject poverty, living on the streets after moving to Bombay with his mother and hawking items like soap and incense sticks for a living. At the age of nine he took a friend’s suggestion and visited a film set to look for work. And thus began a journey of more than six decades.

Jagdeep's grandson Meezaan Jaaferi made his debut as an actor last year in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Malaal (2019).