Veteran actor Jagdeep 'Soorma Bhopali' of 'Sholay' dies at 81

New Delhi : Veteran Bollywood actor Jagdeep, famous for his Soorma Bhopali character in movie Sholay, passed away at the age of 81. He was suffering from cancer, but the reason behind his death is yet to announced.

His real name was Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri and he is also the father of Bollywood actor Jaaved Jaaferi and TV director Naved Jaffrey.

Jagdeep also took the director’s chair when he made the film Soorma Bhopali in 1988, which was a spin on his own character from Sholay. He played the central character here. Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Rekha made cameo appearances in Soorma Bhopali.

He has starred in movies like 'Ab Dilli Door Nahin', K. A. Abbas's 'Munna', Guru Dutt's 'Aar Paar', Bimal Roy's 'Do Bigha Zamin' and AVM's 'Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke'. During his career, he acted in more than 400 movies.

Reportedly, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had gifted his personal staff to Jagdeep for his stellar performance in 'Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke'.

On the work front, Jagdeep was last seen in 'Gali Gali Chor Hai'. starring Akshaye Khanna, Shriya Saran and Mugdha Godse in the lead roles. Helmed by Rumi Jaffrey, the fim was released in February 2012.

Jagdeep’s last rites will be performed on Thursday at Shia Kabrastan in Mumbai.