Saeed Jaffrey

Saeed Jaffrey began as RJ with AIR Saeed Jaffrey first heard radio in 1945 when he was 16 year old. While travelling with father he found his father listening to BBC Radio station during a train journey. Later when India got freedom, Saeed Jaffrey listened to India’s First Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru's inaugural speech on All India Radio and was fascinated by the medium. Hence he started his career as Radio Jockey with All India Radio at the age of 22 years. We worked as an English Announcer with the External Services of All India Radio. Saeed Jaffrey won fame in International TV In 1951 Saeed Jaffrey formed his own English theatre company called Unity Theatre and did plays of Shakespeare in New Delhi. Later he went to London and studied drama at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and got a postgraduate degree from the prestigious the Catholic University of America. Saeed Jaffrey made his mark as urbane Rafiq in the BBC TV series (1975-78) cult classic Gangsters. Later he appeared in many television series, including Staying On (1980); The Jewel in the Crown (1984); Tandoori Nights (1985-87) and his super hit serial The Far Pavilions (1984) with Hollywood veteran Omar Sharif Saeed Jaffrey stint in International films Saeed Jaffrey’s first role in International cinema was in Hollywood film The Man Who Would Be King with Michael Caine and Sean Connery. His other hit films include James Ivory's The Guru, Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures with Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Courtesans of Bombay and John Masters' The Deceivers with Pierce Brosnan. He played the key role of Indian leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Sir Richard Attenborough’ film Gandhi. His other memorable role is in Sir David Lean’s A Passage to India as Hamidullah. Saeed played three diverse leads in the Canadian film Masala and the drunken lead in the film After Midnight with Hayley Mills, for Channel Four. He won a BAFTA nomination for his role as Nasser in My Beautiful Laundrette. In the Millennium edition of the Guinness Book of Records, Saeed was included as the only Indian actor who has appeared in eighteen international films. Saeed Jaffrey worked with top filmmakers in Bollywood After a milestone performance in Satyajit Ray’s landmark film Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Saeed Jaffrey stunned Indian filmmakers with his next superlative performance as Lallan Miyan the Lucknowi pan stall owner in Farooq Shaikh’s all time comedy Chashme Buddoor. After the tremendous success of Chashme Buddoor, he became a favorite character artist of Indian cinema and ruled 80’ and 90’ working with top stars and great filmmakers like opposite Dilip Kumar (Mashaal), Amitabh Bachchan (Ajooba), Aamir Khan (Dil), Naseeruddin Shah (Hero Hiralal), Rishi Kapoor ( Heena), Anil Kapoor (Eeshwar), Govinda (Aunty No 1). He also worked with top filmmakers like Shyam Benegal’ Mandi, Shekhar Kapoor’ Masoom, Yash Chopra’s Vijay, Ramesh Sippy’ Saagar, Rakesh Roshan’s Khudgarz, Subhash Ghai’s Ram Lakhan etc. In fact Saeed impressed film legend Raj Kapoor so much that after Ram Teri Ganga Mali he repeated him in his next film Heena. Interestingly in both the films he won Film fare Best supporting actor nomination.