Saeed Jaffrey was an internationally known actor with roles in the films Gandhi, The Man Who Would Be King, A Passage to India, My Beautiful Laundrette and The Chess Players.
He was born in India and became well known for his work from Bollywood to Broadway, earning nearly 200 on-screen acting credits. In 1982, he appeared in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. The film, which followed the true story of a lawyer who became the leader of the Indian revolts against British rule, was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning eight (including best picture, director and actor in a leading role — Ben Kingsley). Jaffrey played Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Congress party's organizational genius.
In John Huston’s 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King, Jaffrey played Billy Fish, the translator to Daniel (Sean Connery) and Peachy (Michael Caine), two British soldiers in India who resign from the Army and attempt to become deities.
He also appeared frequently on television, including Armstrong Circle Theatre, Strange Report, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, Rumpole of the Bailey, the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street and the miniseries The Far Pavilions.
Saeed Jaffrey was an internationally known actor with roles in the films Gandhi, The Man Who Would Be King, A Passage to India, My Beautiful Laundrette and The Chess Players.
He was born in India and became well known for his work from Bollywood to Broadway, earning nearly 200 on-screen acting credits. In 1982, he appeared in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. The film, which followed the true story of a lawyer who became the leader of the Indian revolts against British rule, was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning eight (including best picture, director and actor in a leading role — Ben Kingsley). Jaffrey played Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Congress party's organizational genius.
In John Huston’s 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King, Jaffrey played Billy Fish, the translator to Daniel (Sean Connery) and Peachy (Michael Caine), two British soldiers in India who resign from the Army and attempt to become deities.
He also appeared frequently on television, including Armstrong Circle Theatre, Strange Report, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, Rumpole of the Bailey, the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street and the miniseries The Far Pavilions.
Jaffrey started his own English theater company in Delhi and was the first Indian actor to tour and perform Shakespeare across the U.S. and appear in a major role on Broadway — in A Passage to India, opposite Dame Gladys Cooper.
In 1986, he won a BAFTA for best actor in a supporting role, for his part as Nasser, a successful entrepreneur, in Stephen Frears's My Beautiful Laundrette. In 1995, Jaffrey was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to drama.
He died November 15, 2015, in London, England. He was 86.
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