Saeed Jaffrey, one of the best-known faces of British-Indian cinema and television, has died at the age of 86.

The Indian-born British actor appeared in the Oscar-winning Gandhi and films such as My Beautiful Laundrette, as well as many Bollywood films and British television productions, including Coronation Street.

Among his screen credits in a career spanning more than 50 years were roles in director John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King and Indian director Satyajit Ray’s The Chess Players, as well as the BBC television series and film versions of A Passage to India.

A statement issued by his family on Monday said he passed away peacefully on Nov. 14 at a London hospital; he collapsed at his home in London from a brain hemorrhage and did not regain consciousness, they said.

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Mr. Jaffrey worked with actors and directors including Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, James Ivory and Richard Attenborough.

Mr. Jaffrey’s other international works included the popular 1980s television series The Jewel in the Crown (in which he played the Nawab of Mirat) and films such as Chicken Tikka Masala.

In a tweet on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Mr. Jaffrey as “a multifaceted actor whose flair and versatility will always be remembered.”

Saeed Jaffrey was born on Jan. 8, 1929, into a Muslim family in Malerkotla, Punjab, and started his acting career by setting up his own theatre company in New Delhi. He worked at the state-run All India Radio before moving to the United States as a Fulbright scholar and studying drama at the Catholic University of America, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

He was the first Indian to take Shakespearean plays on a tour to the United States. He later quit the tour to marry his first wife, Madhur Jaffrey, an Indian-born actor, food and travel writer and television personality. The couple, whose marriage ended in divorce in 1965, had three daughters, Sakina, Zia and Meera.

Sakina Jaffrey is also a film and television actor (Raising Helen, House of Cards, Sleepy Hollow), and appeared with her father in the 1992 Canadian-made film Masala, which was set in Toronto’s Indian community. Globe and Mail reviewer Rick Groen praised it for being a “movie that refuses to compromise … and that perfectly embodies the meaning of its exotic title: ‘a spicy combination of elements.’”

In addition to his children, Mr. Jaffrey leaves his second wife, Jennifer, whom he married in 1980.

In the 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King, he played opposite Mr. Cain and Mr. Connery. In 1982, he portrayed Patel in Gandhi, which starred Ben Kingsley. In 1985’s My Beautiful Laundrette, which starred Mr. Day-Lewis, he play the laundrette owner, Nasi.

Mr. Jaffrey developed his Bollywood career in the 1970s and 80s with roles in popular movies such as Masoom (Innocent), Mr. Ray’s Chess Players and later Henna. He worked with several top Bollywood actors, including Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Madhuri ixit.

In 1995, Mr. Jaffrey became the first Indian to named to the Order of the British Empire, for his contributions to drama.

With files from AP and staff

source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com / The Globe and Mail / Home> Arts> Film / by Michael Roddy / Reuters / Monday – November 16th, 2015