Last week our industry lost yet another gem, as news broke about the demise of veteran actor Jagdeep at the age of 81. His son, Jaaved Jaaferi took to social media days after the demise of his father and shared a lovely post remembering him.
The actor rightly said that the word ‘legend’ is easily used for any actor these days. Jagdeep was someone who defined the term. He recounted his father’s rags-to-riches story and the hardships Jagdeep had to face from the age of 10. Excerpts from his post, ‘From 10 to 81, all he breathed and lived was films. After losing his father at 7 and losing everything else that existed of a good life after the Partition, it was a head-to-head combat with poverty and survival on the footpath of Mumbai. An 8 yr old with his mother thrown head first into the ocean. It was either sink or swim. So he swam. From working in small scale tin factories, to making kites, selling soap, to walking behind a Maalishwala holding his canister of oil and shouting ‘Maalish, tel maalish’. At 10 yrs of age what destiny chose for him, as the light at the end of the tunnel, was cinema.’
Read the full post here in the words of his own son Jaaved Jaaferi.
My heartfelt thanks to all those who shared the pain of my fathers departure with so much love, (cont) https://t.co/YbPTkGzRYd
— Jaaved Jaaferi (@jaavedjaaferi) July 13, 2020
Jagdeep passed away on July 9, due to age-related problems. The actor was 81 years old and has done some 400 films. His most iconic role remains that of Soorma Bhopali from Sholay.