Mumbai: Remembering veteran actor-comic Jagdeep as a humble human being loved by millions, megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Thursday said the Hindi film industry lost “another gem” in his death.
Jagdeep died on Wednesday at his residence at the age of 81.
Bachchan, who worked with the actor in his career-defining run as Soorma Bhopali in “Sholay” and “Shahenshah”, said Jagdeep had crafted a “unique individual style” of his own.
“Last night we lost another gem. Jagdeep… the actor of exceptional comedic repertoire, passed away.
“He had crafted a unique individual style of his own… and I had the honour of working with him in several films… the more prominent ones in the eyes of the audience being ‘Sholay’ and ‘Shahenshah’,” Bachchan wrote on his blog.
The 77-year-old actor had a guest appearance in Jagdeep’s 1988 directorial “Soorma Bhopali”.
“A humble human… loved by millions. My duas and my prayers,” he added.
The last of the comic icons in the tradition of seniors Johnny Walker and Mehmood, the actor had a prolific career that lasted beyond 400 films, including “Do Bigha Zamin”, “Aar Paar”, “Khilona”, “Teen Bahuraniyan”, and many other memorable roles.
Jagdeep, whose real name was Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri, started his journey in cinema as a child actor with the 1951 film “Afsana” and went on to do lead roles in movies like “Bhabhi” and “Barkha”.
He took a comedic turn from Shammi Kapoor-starrer “Brahmachari” and later featured in titles like “Purana Mandir”, “Andaz Apna Apna”, “Phool Aur Kaante”, among others.
Bachchan said Jagdeep’s memorable performances brought joy and happiness all around.
“Adopting Jagdeep as his film name was such a gracious factor that exhibited the unity in diversity of the country. There were many others at the time that did similar… the eminent and distinguished… Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Meena Kumari , Jayant – Amjad Khan’s father, a giant of a actor… and many many others…” he added.