Iconic ‘jailor’, comic artiste Asrani dies at 84

His most memorable works as supporting actor from 1970 to 1979 are Mere Apne, Koshish, Parichay, Abhimaan, Mehbooba and Bandish

MUMBAI: A few months ago in a political rally in Amravati, 84-year-old Asrani made an entry on stage, along with actor Sonu Sood, as the iconic jailer of Sholay enthralling the crowds. “Who would have thought an octogenarian would exude such energy. He brought the house down,” said Sood.

Asrani presenting the first show of "Hanste Hanste" - HT Photo.

Asrani died on Monday after a brief illness, reported PTI.

Asrani’s Bollywood career spanned over five decades. He has played character roles, comedic roles and supporting roles; but he was best known for playing the “Angrezon ke zamane ka jailor” in Sholay. In the 1975 film, which still evokes laughter, writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar modelled the character after Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator.

Born Govardhan Asrani on January 1, 1941, into a middle-class Sindhi household in Jaipur, Asrani always told scribes, “I am born on January 1. The world celebrates me by default.’’ Starting his career in 1959 as a junior artiste with the boisterous Shammi Kapoor in a song called, Ab Kahan Jayen Hum in, Ujala, Asrani went on to become a household name.

After graduating from University Rajasthan College, Jaipur, he had a stint as a voice artist on All India Radio, in the pink city. Eventually, the veteran actor who also doubled up as an acting-tutor in the FTII, Pune, worked in over 350 films. He taught actors such as Jaya Bachchan and till the end most of his actor-students referred to him as “Asrani Sir.’

When he heard the news of the veteran’s passing, Akshay Kumar who is in London for a Diwali break, said: “Tell me it is not true.” And repeated it a few times.

On the sets of Akshay’s unreleased venture, Bhoot Bangla, directed by Priyadashan, another Asrani loyalist, the octogenarian did a scene with a long dialogue without using a tele-prompter. An eye-witness said: “When Asrani Sir finished the scene at Chomu Palace Jaipur, there was pin drop silence on the set. Actors such as Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Tabu stood rooted to their spots because he was so good. And then the awestruck actors clapped non-stop because of the way he did his scene.’’

“He could memorise a four-page dialogue even into his senior years,’’ said a unit hand. Hearing the news of his passing, Priyadarshan broke down over the phone.

Veteran actor and ’80s superstar, Jeetendra who acted with him in Tohfaa, Mawaali and Hoshiyaar referred to him as “an institution”.

Asrani was married to actress Manju Bansal. He has worked in 25 films with Rajesh Khanna from 1972 to 1991, from Bawarchi (1972) to Ghar Parivar (1991).

His most memorable works as supporting actor from 1970 to 1979 are Mere Apne, Koshish, Parichay, Abhimaan, Mehbooba and Bandish. He played the lead in Chala Murari Hero Banne; a box-office disaster but critically acclaimed. This writer recalls his stint in Gujarati films in the ’80s, where he once actually brought traffic to a halt on the streets of Ahmedabad when he travelled in an open-hood automobile.

Gulshan Grover, who has acted with Asrani many films and done live-shows with him in India and overseas, said, “He was and is a legend. He got thunderous applause because of his quick repartees on live shows. In films he was easily one of the most spontaneous actors. Discipline was his middle name. He never came late to a shooting and I have never seen him slacken on the job.’’

Producer-distributor, Hafeez Nadiadwala who worked with Asrani on Love Junction (1995) said, “He was a producer’s actor. When he heard I was working on a small budget on Love Junction, both Sadashiv Amrapurkar and he readily travelled by train to Delhi. Asrani could have insisted on a flight but he was a producer’s actor. He understood the challenges of a small-budget film and never pushed a producer beyond his means. That is why he was always repeated by his filmmakers.’’