Saeed Jaffrey passes away

Bollywood actor Saeed Jaffrey, who starred in films including A Passage To India and Gandhi, has died at the age of 86.

Jaffrey had more than 150 films to his name, which included classic Indian movies such as Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj ke Khiladi (The Chess Players).
Television credits include Tandoori Nights, The Far Pavilions and The Jewel In The Crown.

Jaffrey collapsed at his London home from a brain haemorrhage and never regained consciousness, a statement said. He died peacefully in the early hours of November 14 at a London hospital.

The actor’s death was announced last night by his niece Shaheen Aggarwal.  She wrote on Facebook: “Today, a generation of Jaffreys has passed away. Saeed Jaffrey has joined his brothers and sister and is rejoicing in the lap of his Heavenly Father, eternally.”

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, was among those to lead online tributes, saying on his official Twitter feed: “Saeed Jaffrey was a multifaceted actor whose flair & versatility will always be remembered.”

Born in the Indian state of Punjab, Jaffrey began his career as a theatre actor, and later went on to work with legends like Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley.
In recent years he appeared as Ravi Desai on Coronation Street. The actor had three daughters by his ex-wife actress and cookery author Madhur Madhur Jaffrey.