Bollywood pays tribute to advertising, theatre legend Alyque Padamsee

Bollywood actors such as Nimrat Kaur, Boman Irani and Jaaved Jaffrey have paid tribute to advertising and theatre legend Alyque Padamsee, who died on Saturday at the age of 90.

Advertising and theatre personality Alyque Padamsee’s death on Saturday has been met with condolences by Bollywood actors on Twitter. Stars such as Nimrat Kaur, Jaaved Jaffrey, Boman Irani and others took to Twitter to pay respects to Padamsee, who was also known for his performance as Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.

Alyque Padamsee has died at the age of 90.

Boman Irani wrote that Padamsee gave him his first break in theatre. “Saddened to hear of the passing of Ad Guru and Theatre doyen Alyque Padamsee,” he wrote. “He gave me my first break in Theatre, like countless before and after me. Maverick, Unique, Uncompromising. There will never be another.”

Nimrat Kaur wrote, “Deepest condolences and prayers for the family and loved ones of Alyque Padamsee sir...a true pioneer. May he rest in peace.”

Jaaved Jaffrey, meanwhile, wrote that Padamsee was “an advertising genius, a master theatre director and a vociferous social activist who inspired people to fight for justice, and with whom I was fortunate enough to work under and be a friend passed away leaving behind a legacy.”

Photographer Atul Kasbekar wrote that Padamsee had given him some of his ‘early breaks in advertising photography.’

A renowned personality in the English theatre scene, he produced around 70 plays, including notable ones like Evita, Tughlaqa, Jesus Christ Superstar, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire and Broken Images.

During his career in advertising, most notably as the Chief Executive of one of India's biggest advertising agencies, Lintas India from 1980-1994, Padamsee was involved in nurturing and building over a 100 major products/brands through catchy and imaginative campaign.