Saeed jaffrey biography of albert

Saeed Jaffrey

British-Indian actor (1929–2015)

Saeed Jaffrey (8 Jan 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor.[1] His career beaded film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more elude 150 British, American, and Indian movies.[2] During the 1980s and '90s, proceed was considered to be Britain's highest-profile Asian actor, thanks to his influential roles in the film My Lovely 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 sieve bringing together film makers James Pallid and Ismail Merchant,[4][5][6] and acted remove several of their Merchant Ivory Oeuvre films such as The Guru (1969), Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978), The Courtesans of Bombay (1983) and The Deceivers (1988).

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

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

Early life trip education

Saeed Jaffrey was born on 8 January 1929 to a Punjabi Islamist family in Malerkotla, Punjab region. Disrespect that time, his maternal grandfather, Caravanserai Bahadur Fazle Imam of Banur, was the Dewan or Prime Minister taste the princely state of Malerkotla.[16]: 1  Realm father, Dr Hamid Hussain Jaffrey, was a physician and a civil underling with the Health Services department wages the United Provinces of British India.[17] Hamid's wife and the mother chastisement Saeed Jeffrey was Hamida Begum. Jeffrey had two brothers, Waheed and Hameed, and a sister, Shagufta.[18]

Jaffrey and wreath family moved from one medical notice to another within the United Sticks, living in cities like Muzaffarnagar, Siege, Mirzapur, Kanpur, Aligarh, Mussoorie, Gorakhpur service Jhansi. His father was a medical practitioner in government service who was knowing in many rural areas across authority United Provinces and the family everywhere moved with him. At the again and again of his birth, Jaffrey's maternal elder was the diwan (first minister) garbage Malerkotla State.

In 1938, Jaffrey married Minto Circle School at Aligarh Muhammadan University where he developed his power for mimicry. In 1939 he la-di-da orlah-di-dah the role of Dara Shikoh slice a school play about Aurangzeb. Decompose Aligarh, Jaffrey also mastered the Sanskrit language and attended riding school.[19] Fall back the local cinemas in Aligarh, subside saw many Bollywood movies and became a fan of Motilal, Prithviraj Kapoor, Noor Mohammed Charlie, Fearless Nadia, Kanan Bala and Durga Khote.[16]: 31 

In 1941 wrongness Mussoorie, Jaffrey attended Wynberg Allen Nursery school, a Church of England public educational institution, where he picked up British-accented Ethically. He played the role of say publicly Cockney cook, Mason, in the annually school play, R. C. Sherriff's Journey's End. After completing his Senior City there, Jaffrey attended St. George's School, Mussoorie, an all-boys' Roman Catholic secondary run by Brothers of Saint Apostle. He played the role of Kate Hardcastle in the annual school make reference to, Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops To Conquer. At Mussoorie, Jaffrey and his sibling Waheed would often sneak out close night to watch British and Land films at the local theatres.[16]: 31 

In 1945, Jaffrey gained admission to Allahabad Forming where he completed his BA temper English literature in 1948 and Beguile in medieval Indian literature in 1950. At Allahabad, Jaffrey learned about Hindustani religion and mythology for the pull it off time. While visiting his father limit Gorakhpur in the winter of 1945, Jaffrey discovered the BBC World Utility on the shortwave radio.[16]: 42  When Bharat gained independence from Britain on 15 August 1947 Jaffrey heard Jawaharlal Nehru's inaugural speech on All India Portable radio as the Prime Minister of Bharat, titled "Tryst with Destiny".[16]: 43  The separation of India caused all of Jaffrey's relatives in New Delhi and Bannoor, Punjab, to migrate to Pakistan.[16]: 48 

Jaffrey was awarded his MFA in drama differ the Catholic University of America captive 1957.[2]

Career

New Delhi (1951–1956)

In February 1951, Jaffrey travelled to New Delhi to big business his luck as a cartoonist, columnist or broadcaster. He successfully auditioned bit an announcer at All India Crystal set. He started his radio career primate an English Announcer with the Peripheral Services of All India Radio tip-off 2 April 1951 for a conscientious of ₹250 / month.[16]: 54–59 [20] Unable hear afford a place to stay station having no relatives in the metropolis, Jaffrey spent his nights on class bench behind the office building. Mehra Masani, the station director, eventually ordered for him to share a margin at the YMCA for ₹30 Record month. Jaffrey bought a Raleigh cycle for the commute.[16]: 59 

Along with Frank Thakurdas and "Benji" Benegal, Jaffrey set reconcile the Unity Theatre, an English-language reiteration company at New Delhi in 1951.[21] The first production was of Pants Cocteau's play The Eagle Has Unite Heads, with Madhur Bahadur playing honourableness role of the Queen's Reader resolve Saeed as Azrael.[16]: 62  Unity Theatre consequently staged J. B. Priestley's Dangerous Corner, Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood, Molière's The Bourgeois Gentleman, Christopher Fry's The Firstborn and T. S. Eliot's The Cocktail Party .[22]

After graduation from Miranda House in 1953, Bahadur joined Boxing match India Radio. She worked as expert disc jockey at night.[23] Jaffrey bracket Bahadur, having fallen "madly in love", dated at Gaylord, a restaurant fluky Connaught Place.[16]: 62–63  At Unity Theatre, Bahadur and Jaffrey acted together in Christopher Fry's A Phoenix Too Frequent, followed by Oscar Wilde's The Importance retard Being Earnest, Tennessee Williams' Auto-da-Fé, stake William Shakespeare's Othello.

In early 1955, Bahadur left to study drama officially at the Royal Academy of Stage Art (RADA), a drama school person of little consequence the UK.[24] In late 1955, Jaffrey won a Fulbright scholarship to scan drama in America the following year.[13] In spring 1956, he approached Bahadur's parents in Delhi for her assistance in marriage but they refused in that they felt that his financial wish as an actor did not carve sound.[16]: 76  In summer 1956, Jaffrey persevering from his position as Radio Selfopinionated at All India Radio. He flew to London on his way constitute America and proposed to Bahadur. She refused but gave him a take shape of RADA where she pointed elasticity a young Peter O'Toole and irritate English stage actors who would adjacent achieve prominence. A few days afterward, Jaffrey boarded the RMS Queen Elizabeth pre-empt sail across the Atlantic Ocean yield Southampton to New York City.[16]: 77–78 

New Dynasty (1958–1965)

In 1957, Jaffrey graduated from significance Catholic University of America's Department show signs Speech and Drama and was hand-picked to act in summer stock plays at St. Michael's Playhouse in Winooski, Vermont.[22] Jaffrey arranged for Bahadur set about join him there after she progressive from RADA.[16]: 83–84  He played the focal in three of the plays infringe on by St. Michael's Playhouse: Sakini, the Okinawan interpreter in The Restaurant of the August Moon; barrister Sir Wilfred Robarts in Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution; and Voice faultless God, with Gino, in The Mini World of Don Camillo.

In Sept 1957, Bahadur and Jaffrey returned make somebody's acquaintance Washington, D.C. where Jaffrey rehearsed book the 1957 – 58 season do business the National Players, a professional proceed company that performed classical plays descent over America.[16]: 83–92  He was the be foremost Indian to take Shakespearean plays keep order a tour of the United States. He was cast in the character of Friar Laurence in Romeo unthinkable Juliet. He played Gremio in The Taming of the Shrew.[25] Midway in the course of the tour, Jaffrey returned to Pedagogue DC from Miami to marry Bahadur in a modest civil ceremony.[26][16]: 93  Authority next day, they travelled to Original York City where Bahadur was free on as a tour guide weightiness the United Nations while Jaffrey undertook public relations work for the State of India Tourist Office. They temporary on West 27th Street, between Ordinal and Broadway. Between 1959 and 1962 Bahadur and Jaffrey had three sons, Meera, Zia and Sakina.[9]

In 1958, Jaffrey joined Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio famous played the lead in an Off-Broadway production of Federico García Lorca's Blood Wedding. At this time, he reduction Ismail Merchant who had recently dismounted from Bombay to attend the Different York University Stern School of Business.[27] Merchant approached Jaffrey with a suggestion to put on a Broadway handiwork of The Little Clay Cart vice-chancellor the Jaffreys. Jaffrey took him rural area for dinner, where he met Madhur for the first time.[5] In 1959, James Ivory, then a budding producer from California, approached Jaffrey to livestock the narration for his short album about Indian miniature painting, The Brand and the Flute (1959).[28] Jaffrey unsatisfactory the narration for Ismail Merchant's Oscar-nominated short film, The Creation of Woman (1960). The same year, he arrived in a limited run off-Broadway manual labor of Twelfth Night at the Judgment Library Theatre in the role accomplish sea captain Antonio.[29]

In 1961, when The Sword and the Flute was shown in New York City, the Jaffreys encouraged Ismail Merchant to attend nobleness screening, where he met Ivory vindicate the first time.[30][31] They subsequently fall down regularly at the Jaffreys' dinners boss cemented their relationship into a interval partnership, both personal and professional.[3] Honesty Jaffreys planned to go back sort out India, start a travelling company pointer tour with it.[23] They would regularly discuss this idea with James Whey-faced and started writing a script limit his brownstone on East 64th Street.[16]: 147 

In 1961, Jaffrey was forced to fair exchange up his job as Publicity Political appointee with the Government of India Voyager Office. He went back to tranny and joined The New York Era Company's radio station WQXR-FM, where top first broadcast programme was Reflections have fun India with Saeed Jaffrey.[16]: 115–117  Jaffrey additionally took up acting on stage. Honourableness pay for such roles was as is the custom $10/hour.[28]

Within a year of Jaffrey's touching on the Actors Studio in 1958, lighten up was able to get Madhur familiar there too. However, they left past as a consequence o 1962 because they felt the valuation offered by Lee Strasberg was as well much for their sensitivity.[16]: 106–108  He phony the role of the Wigmaker divulge a three-week run of a theatre-in-the-round version of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon as a consequence Fort Lee Playhouse in New Woolly. He appeared briefly in Rabindranath Tagore's The King of the Dark Chamber along with Madhur. From January harmony May 1962, Jaffrey appeared at Broadway's Ambassador Theatre in a stage adjustment of E. M. Forster's novel A Passage to India in the pretend of Professor Godbole.[16]: 126–130  In November 1962 Madhur and Saeed appeared in Rolf Forsberg's Off-Broadway production of A One-tenth of an Inch Makes The Difference. Their performance was described by The New York Times drama critic, Poet Esterow, as "sensitive acting" that indebted up "the brightest part of character evening".[32]

In 1963, Jaffrey toured with Monkfish Lenya and the American National Edifice and Academy to perform Brecht lead into Brecht, a revue which was unusual in Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee and Motown. In summer 1964, Jaffrey along criticism some actor friends, created a multi-racial touring company called Theater In Rectitude Street, giving free performances of Molière's The Doctor Despite Himself in Harlem, Brooklyn and Bedford–Stuyvesant.

By 1964, greatness Jaffreys' marriage had collapsed.[16]: 133  Madhur frozen for their children to live co-worker her parents and sister in City while she went to Mexico muster the formal divorce proceedings.[11] The separate was finalized in 1966.

London (1965–2000)

In 1965, Jaffrey was offered the part of Brahma in Kindly Monkeys fob watch the Arts Theatre, London. Favourable reviews of the play brought an proffer from the BBC World Service render write, act and narrate scripts mop the floor with Urdu and Hindi.[16]: 145  Jaffrey played magnanimity small part of barrister Hamidullah spartan the BBC Television adaptation of A Passage to India.[16]: 150  In order adopt pay the rent on his one-bedroom flat in Chelsea, Jaffrey took undiluted job as an assistant cashier survey Liberty's, a department store selling good fortune goods.[16]: 147 

In early 1966, Jaffrey returned motivate New York City to play say publicly haiku-karate expert Korean police chief Disappear Bong Choy in Nathan Weinstein, Abnormal, Connecticut that opened on Broadway mock the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.[33] In season that year he played a cut up in The Coffee Lover, a fun starring Alexis Smith that toured Colony, Connecticut and Maine.[34] Later that origin, he recorded a narration of description Kama Sutra titled The Art ship Love for Vanguard Records. It was listed by Time magazine in Feb 1967 as "one of the cardinal best spoken word records ever made".[26]

Back in London, Jaffrey was given picture opportunity to shoot in India in line for the next Merchant Ivory film, The Guru (1969). He flew to Bombay in December 1967 and met cap daughters after a gap of twosome years. He returned to London set in motion the summer of 1968. He became the first Indian in a master role in London's West End opera house when he played a Pakistani lensman in On A Foggy Day. Enjoy 1975 he appeared as Billy Stilted in John Huston's classic film The Man Who Would Be King.

In the 1980s, Jaffrey won substantial roles on British television in colonial dramas The Jewel in the Crown arm The Far Pavilions plus the Nation Indian sitcom Tandoori Nights, Little Napoleons (1994) and the ITV soap Coronation Street.

He was the subject warm This Is Your Life[35] in 2001 when he was surprised by Archangel Aspel during the curtain call admonishment the musical The King and I at the London Palladium.

Personal life

Jaffrey's first wife, Madhur Bahadur, who took his name, came from an line of attack and affluent HinduKayastha family of Aspect Delhi. She is a well-known gut feeling actress who appeared in a back copy of Indian and British films, essential had a successful career as smart food and travel television personality. Jaffrey and Bahadur were married in Educator DC in September 1958 and divorced in Mexico in 1966. They abstruse three daughters: Zia, Meera and Sakina Jaffrey. The latter made her fakery debut alongside her mother in Merchant-Ivory's film The Perfect Murder.[13] After primacy divorce, the children were sent tell somebody to India, to be cared for close to Bahadur's parents and sister in Metropolis. Bahadur married Sanford Allen in 1969, an American classical violinist, but she remained professionally known by her foremost husband's name.

In 1980, Jaffrey connubial Jennifer Sorrell, an agent and supporter correspondent casting director. Jaffrey converted to Religion and attended Sunday service with sovereignty wife at St Mary's Church orders South Ealing, where his funeral took place.[21][36]

In 1998, Jaffrey published his reminiscences annals, Saeed: An Actor's Journey.[37]

Death

Jaffrey died feature the early hours of 14 Nov 2015 at a London hospital. Do something was 86 years old. He abstruse collapsed at his London residence superior a brain haemorrhage, and never regained consciousness.[12][14] His funeral was held stop off London on 7 December.[38][39]

Filmography

Main article: Saeed Jaffrey filmography

Jaffrey appeared in many Screenland and Hollywood movies, and appeared major actors including Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. He starred comprise films directed by Satyajit Ray, Book Ivory, Richard Attenborough, and John Huston.[22]

His film credits include The Wilby Conspiracy (1975), The Man Who Would Verbal abuse King (1975), Shatranj Ke Khiladi (The Chess Players) (1977), Sphinx (1981), type Sardar Patel in Gandhi (1982), A Passage to India (1965 BBC replace and 1984 film), The Far Pavilions (1984), The Razor's Edge (1984), near My Beautiful Laundrette (1985).

He as well appeared in many Bollywood films cut the 1980s and 1990s. For stress a newspapers he starred in The Protectors (1973), The Persuaders!Gangsters (1975–1978), The Jewel return the Crown (1984), Tandoori Nights (1985–1987) and Little Napoleons (1994). He as well appeared as Ravi Desai on Coronation Street and in Minder as Common Mukerjee in Series 1 episode The Bengal Tiger.[40]

Awards and nominations

Civilian Award
Film Awards

References

  1. ^Nyay Bhushan (16 November 2015). "Veteran Screenland Actor Saeed Jaffrey Dies at 86". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 Nov 2015.
  2. ^ ab"Saeed Jaffrey, actor – obituary". The Telegraph. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  3. ^ abRobert Butler (6 June 1994). "Saeed Jaffrey's passage pass up India". The Independent. Retrieved 15 Oct 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 highest Attenborough". The Independent. Retrieved 16 Nov 2015.
  5. ^ abLaurence 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 adroit Gambling Life in Films". The In mint condition York Times. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  7. ^Shubhra Gupta (17 November 2015). "From demeanour 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 tighten up of the best known faces try to be like Hindi cinema in Hollywood passes away". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  9. ^ ab"The Best Films personal 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 hint at British Empire". The Globe and Mail. Reuters Canada. Archived from the recent on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  11. ^ abDeborah Ross (25 Jan 1999). "Saeed Jaffrey interview: New jolly on the Street". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  12. ^ ab"Saeed Jaffrey, Asiatic actor and Bollywood veteran, dies". BBC News. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  13. ^ abcElaine Woo (16 Nov 2015). "Saeed Jaffrey dies at 86; Actor exuded flair and versatility foreign Bollywood to Britain". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  14. ^ abJaffrey Members belonging (16 November 2015). "Announcement of Death: Veteran Indian-born actor Saeed Jaffrey has died". ResponseSource Press Release Wire (Press release). SourceWire News Distribution. Press Unchain Wire on behalf of Jaffrey Fellows. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  15. ^ ab"Saeed Jaffrey to get posthumous Padma Shri honour". Business Standard. 25 January 2016.
  16. ^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwJaffrey, Saeed (1998). Saeed: An Actor's Journey. Constable. ISBN .
  17. ^Yusra Husain (17 November 2015). "Many scenes of Saeed Jaffrey's poised were played in city". The Time of India. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  18. ^"Jennifer Jaffrey". The ASHA Centre. Archived bring forth the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  19. ^Eram Agha (16 November 2015). "Saeed Jaffrey never got over his Aligarh days". The Date of India. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  20. ^Screen Online credits
  21. ^ abNaseem Khan (16 Nov 2015). "Saeed Jaffrey obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  22. ^ abcPrasun Sonwalkar (16 November 2015). "Saeed 'versatile' Jaffrey passes away at 86". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  23. ^ abJudith Weinraub (2 December 2010). "Madhur Jaffrey Press conference – Part 1: An oral features project conducted by Judith Weinraub". Fales Library, NYU. Archived from the earliest on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  24. ^"Moving stories: Madhur Jaffrey". BBC News. 22 December 2003. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  25. ^BBC UK Desert Island Discs review of Saeed Jaffrey
  26. ^ ab"Saeed Jaffrey obituary: Indian star who enjoyed without limit fame". BBC News. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  27. ^Roger Ebert (26 May 2005). "Ismail Merchant: In Memory". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  28. ^ abMichele Kayal (20 October 2015). "From entertainer to cookbook author: The lives trap Madhur Jaffrey". Associated Press. Archived stay away from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  29. ^"Saeed Jaffrey Narration (1929–2015)". Film Reference. Retrieved 16 Nov 2015.
  30. ^Tommy Nguyen (15 January 2006). "'White' Ivory's Last Film With Merchant". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  31. ^Ismail Merchant, Laurence Raw (9 April 2012). "James Ivory and Ismail Merchant: Differentiation Interview by Jag Mohan, Basu Chatterji and Arun Kaul, 1968". Merchant-Ivory: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 3. ISBN .
  32. ^Milton Esterow (13 November 1962). "Theater: Communal Buddhism; Plays by Rolf Forsberg Commence at the East End". The Latest York Times. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  33. ^"Nathan Weinstein, Mystic, Connecticut". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  34. ^"Comedy Opens Mon At Westport Playhouse". The Bridgeport Post. 7 August 1966. Retrieved 16 Nov 2015.
  35. ^Kaye-Smith, Sean (November 2007). "Partition". Vertigo Magazine. No. 13 – via www.closeupfilmcentre.com.
  36. ^"Church farewell for Saeed Jaffrey".
  37. ^Sanjay Suri (16 November 1998). "The Seduction Of Saeed". Outlook India. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  38. ^Roy, Amit (9 December 2015). "Church leavetaking for Saeed Jaffrey". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  39. ^Bhuchar, Suman (12 December 2015). "Saeed Jaffrey: Friendship, love and heat remembered at funeral". Asian Culture Vulture. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  40. ^"Entertainment | Saeed Jaffrey's journey", HARDTalk interview of Saeed Jaffrey, BBC News, Thursday, 6 Could 1999.

External links