One of India’s most beloved actors, Saeed Jaffrey OBE, is known for his extraordinary career of over six decades in film, radio, stage, and television across India, Britain, and America. Some of his international titles included “Gandhi,” “The Man Who Would Be King,” “My Beautiful Laundrette,” and “A Passage to India.” He also featured in classic Indian films, including Satyajit Ray’s “Shantranj Ke Khiladi,” “Chashme Baddoor,” Ram Teri Ganga Maili, and many more.
Though I was born a Muslim, my father’s job as a medical officer meant that we travelled a great deal and I went to Hindi schools, Muslim schools, public schools, C of E and Catholic schools. I was exposed to a Muslim school, so I learnt Urdu. I was exposed to a Hindu school, so I learnt Hindi. I was exposed to a Church of England school, so I got my Senior Cambridge certificate.
Saeed Jaffrey
Early Life and Family
Saeed Jaffrey was born on January 8, 1929, to a Punjabi Muslim family in Malerkotla, Punjab. At that time, his maternal grandfather, Khan Bahadur Fazle Imam, was the Dewan, or Prime Minister, of the princely state of Malerkotla. Saeed Jaffrey was born into a Punjabi Muslim family. His father, Dr. Hamid Hussain Jaffrey, was a physician and a civil servant with the Health Services department of the United Provinces. His mother, Hamida Begum, was a homemaker.
Jaffrey had two brothers, Waheed and Hameed, and a sister, Shagufta. The family moved frequently due to his father’s medical postings, living in cities like Muzaffarnagar, Lucknow, Mirzapur, Kanpur, Aligarh, Mussoorie, Gorakhpur, and Jhansi.
Education
Jaffrey completed his early education at Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie and St. George’s College in Mussoorie. He honed his skills and picked up British English, during this time. In 1938, Jaffrey joined Minto Circle School at Aligarh Muslim University, where he developed his talent for mimicry and his love for cinema.
He later attended Aligarh Muslim University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature in 1948. He got his MA in medieval Indian literature in 1950 from Allahabad University. Jaffrey’s passion for drama led him to the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1957. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Drama on a Fulbright scholarship.
Start of a Legendary Career
Jaffrey started his career as an English announcer and radio director with the External Services of All India Radio in 1951. At the same time he set up his theater company, “Unity Theatre,” with Frank Thakurdas and “Benji” Benegal. During this period, he played a wide variety of roles in productions of Tennessee Williams, Fry, Priestly, Wilde, and Shakespeare. He met his future wife, Madhur Bahadur, during rehearsal of his first theater production, and both fell for each other.
In 1955, Jaffrey won a Fulbright scholarship to study drama in America and graduated from the Catholic University of America’s Department of Speech and Drama. In 1957. Interestingly, before Jaffery got the admission to Catholic University, Madhur Bahadur was accepted at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) to study drama.
In 1958, Jaffrey joined Lee Strasberg’s “Actors Studio” and played the lead in an Off-Broadway production of Federico García Lorca’s “Blood Wedding.” The same year, after graduating from RADA, Madhur joined Jaffrey in America. The same years, they married in a small ceremony. It was also the time when Ismail Merchent approached Jaffrey with a proposal to put on a Broadway production of “The Little Clay Cart,” starring Saeed and Madhur.
Broadening The Horizon
Next year, Jaffrey provided the narration for James Ivory’s short film “The Sword and the Flute (1959)” and Ismail Merchant’s Oscar-nominated short film, “The Creation of Woman (1960).” He did “Reflections of India with Saeed Jaffrey” for New York Times Radio WQXR-FM. For the next 5 years he worked extensively in theater. He also appeared on Broadway in a stage version of E. M. Forster’s novel “A Passage to India.”
During this time Madhur and Saeed drifted apart, their divorce was finalized in 1966. Jaffrey shifted his base to London in the late 60s, where he appeared on the West End. He worked for the BBC, writing and broadcasting scripts in Urdu, Hindi, and English. In 1967, he was offered a Merchant Ivory film, “The Guru (1969).”
In “The Man Who Would Be King,” John Huston’s 1975 adaptation of a Rudyard Kipling novel, he played an interpreter who helped two former British soldiers in India, played by Michael Caine and Sean Connery, in their efforts to amass a fortune. It was his breakout role.
Back To India
His first Indian film, “Shatranj ke Khiladi/The Chess Players,” released in 1977 to great critical acclaim. Directed by the celebrated Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray, the film remain one of Saeed’s most impoortant films. In 1981, he did Sai Paranjpe’s cult classic “Chashme Buddoor,” where he played a Delhi paanwala. To prepare for the role, he visited the vendors around the narrow lanes near the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi. Hgrasp their diction and vocabulary, she said.
He played the Indian statesman Vallabhbhai Patel in Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” in 1982. He then acted in the British mini-series “The Jewel in the Crown” in 1984. In 1985, he had a major part as a hustling businessman in Stephen Frears’s “My Beautiful Laundrette.” He also acted in David Lean’s “A Passage to India.”
Jaffrey was prolific on British television and appeared on several hit shows, including “Gangsters,” “Coronation Street,” “Little Napoleons,” and “Tandoori Nights.” His impeccable diction and ability to speak both Urdu and British English also made him a familiar voice on BBC Radio and the Asian Network.
Jaffrey’s rendition of the Kama Sutra was listed by Time magazine as “one of the five best spoken word records ever.”
Personal Life and Legacy
Although Saeed Jaffrey’s marriage with Madhur Jaffrey ended in 1966, they remain connected through their three children: Meera, Zia, and Sakina Jaffery. In 1980, Jaffrey married Jennifer Sorrell, with whom he remained until his death.
Jaffrey passed away on 15 November 2015, in London. He was 86. The next year, in 2016, the Government of India awarded him a posthumous Padma Shri.
Saeed Jaffrey’s contributions to cinema, theatre, and television have left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. He was the first Asian to receive British and Canadian film award nominations. The Queen appointed him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1995 for his services to drama. His memoirs, “Saeed: An Actor’s Journey,” were published in 1998, providing insights into his life and career.
