WEB DESK
Veteran Bollywood actor, comedian Jagdeep who breathed his last on July 8 at his home in Mumbai will be missed forever by his fans and cine lovers. Born as Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri in Amritsar, his death left many Bollywood celebrities and fans mourning.
Hindi cinema fans will always remember Jagdeep for playing Soorma Bhopali in the cult film Sholay. He played a timber merchant in the Ramesh Sippy directorial and his catchphrase “Mera naam Soorma Bhopali aise hi nahi hai”, much like other dialogues of the film, became a hit.
Jagdeep entered the film industry as a child artiste and was seen in films like Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin, KA Abbas’ Munna and Guru Dutt’s Aar Paar. He proceeded to act in movies for almost six decades.
In fact, Jagdeep also took the director’s chair in 1988. He directed a film titled Soorma Bhopali, which was based on his own character from Sholay. He also played the central role here.
Jagdeep appeared in over 400 movies. And while he was mostly known for his comedic roles, not many know that he also played the leading man in movies such as Bhabhi, Barkha, Bindaya among more. He was also known for featuring in cult Ramsay Brothers’ horror flicks like Purana Mandir and 3D Saamri.
Jagdeep was also seen in popular films like Feroze Khan starrer Qurbani and Amitabh Bachchan starrer Shehenshah. In the 90s, he found a new audience as he played the role of Salman Khan’s father in the cult comedy Andaz Apna Apna. He played the character of Bankelal in the Rajkumar Santoshi directorial.
Jagdeep was last seen in the 2012 film Gali Gali Chor Hai, where he essayed the role of a police constable.
Jagdeep had six children from his three marriages to Naseem Begum, Sughra Begum and Nazima. His two sons, Jaaved Jaaferi and Naved Jafri, are also a part of the Hindi film and television industry. Both Jaaved and Naved famously hosted (and later judged) the popular dance reality show Boogie Woogie.
Jagdeep’s grandson Meezan, who made his Bollywood debut with the Sanjay Leela Bhansali production venture Malaal, had earlier said in an interview that Jagdeep was full of life; “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.”