MOMBAI, Bollywood veteran comedian Jagdeep is no longer there. He died here on Thursday, at the age of 81, due to age-related health problems.
Jagdeep was born in Amritsar on March 29, 1939 as Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri and acted in over 400 films. He is best-known for his appearance as Soorma Bhopali in the film "Sholay" (1975) by Ramesh Sippy. Bollywood buffs of the new generation would remember him as father of Salman Khan in Rajkumar Santoshi's "Andaaz Apna Apna" (1994).
Jagdeep began his career as a child artist with Ashok Kumar, Veena and Pran in the 1951 release of BR Chopra, "Afsana." As a child artist he also worked in "Ab Dilli Door Nahin" produced by Raj Kapoor, "Munna" by KA Abbas, "Aar Paar" by Guru Dutt, "Do Bigha Zamin" by Bimal Roy and "Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke," produced by AVM.
He would later make a mark in movies like "Bhabhi" (1957) and "Barkha" (1959) with roles.
Jagdeep 's golden patch will start with the 1968 movie "Brahmachari" produced by GP Sippy, starring Shammi Kapoor. There was broad appreciation for his comic role in the film. He became a familiar face in Hindi films through the seventies, eighties and nineties, trying out the silly funnyman in film after film.
His most recent film released in 2017 is "Masti Nahi Sasti." The comedy under the direction of Ali Abbas Chaudhary also starred Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Johnny Lever, and Prem Chopra.
