Jagdeep was loved by millions, lost another gem: Amitabh Bachchan's tribute to 'Sholay' co-star

New Delhi: Superstar Amitabh Bachchan mourned the death of his 'Sholay' co-star Jagdeep on his official blog on Wednesday saying, the veteran actor was a "humble human and loved by millions." Jagdeep died at the age of 81 due to age-related ailments in Mumbai on Wednesday night. He was best known for his role as Soorma Bhopali in the 1975 blockbuster 'Sholay', featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Amjad Khan and Sanjeev Kumar in prominent roles.

"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'," Big B wrote. 

He added, "He had even requested me to do a small guest role in a film he was producing, which I did .. A humble human .. loved by millions."

Jagdeep started his career as a child artiste in BR Chopra's 1951 release, 'Afsana', starring Ashok Kumar, Veena and Pran. As a child artiste he also worked in the Raj Kapoor-produced 'Ab Dilli Door Nahin', KA Abbas' 'Munna', Guru Dutt's 'Aar Paar', Bimal Roy's 'Do Bigha Zamin' and the AVM-produced 'Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke'.

Later, he made a mark with roles in films such as 'Bhabhi', 'Barkha' and GP Sippy's 'Brahmachari'.

Jagdeep was also known for his role as Salman Khan's father in Rajkumar Santoshi's 'Andaaz Apna Apna' (1994). 

He was born as Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri in Amritsar on March 29, 1939. Like many other actors in Bollywood, he changed his name after entering the industry. Jagdeep was his screen name. 

Of which Amitabh Bachchan wrote, "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 an actor .. and many many others." 

Celebs such as Ajay Devgn, Javed Akhtar, Ranveer Singh, Abhishek Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Shilpa Shetty, Bhumi Pednekar, Madhur Bhandarkar and many others have mourned Jagdeep's death. 

Jagdeep will be laid to rest in Mumbai in the afternoon. He is survived by sons Jaaved Jaaferi and Naved Jafri, who have also made their mark in the entertainment industry. Jaaved's son Meezaan also debuted in Bollywood recently.