# Saeed Jaffrey (سعید جعفری)
**Saeed Jaffrey** (سعید جعفری; born January 8, 1929, Maler Kotla, Punjab, British India) was a British-Indian actor whose career in theater, film, television, and radio spanned more than half a century across both Britain and India[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey-bollywood-and-british-screen-legend-dies-aged-86). He appeared in British and international films including *The Man Who Would Be King* (1975), *Gandhi* (1982), *A Passage to India* (1984), and *My Beautiful Laundrette*, while maintaining a parallel career in more than a hundred Hindi-language films[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/saeed-jaffrey) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). He was appointed an Officer of the [Order of the British Empire](https://www.edgepedia.org/order-of-the-british-empire) (OBE) in 1995 for his contributions to drama[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | January 8, 1929, Maler Kotla, Punjab; died in London in November 2015 at age 86 (sources give November 14 or November 15)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey) • [3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/saeed-jaffrey) |
| Signature roles | Billy Fish in *The Man Who Would Be King* (1975); Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in *Gandhi* (1982); Hamidullah in *A Passage to India* (1984); Nasser in *My Beautiful Laundrette*[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/saeed-jaffrey) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) |
| Broadway and Shakespeare firsts | The first Indian to tour the United States performing Shakespeare and the first to appear in a major role on Broadway, playing Professor Godbole in *A Passage to India* (1958)[5](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey) |
| Hindi film career | Worked in more than a hundred mainstream Hindi films, from *Chashme Buddoor* (1981) to Raj Kapoor's *Ram Teri Ganga Maili* (1985)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) |
| Honors | Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for *The Chess Players*; OBE in 1995 for services to drama[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) |
| Output | Almost 200 screen appearances in a career spanning more than half a century[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey-bollywood-and-british-screen-legend-dies-aged-86) |
## Early life and stage career
Jaffrey was born in [Malerkotla](https://www.edgepedia.org/malerkotla), then a Muslim princely state in Punjab, to a peripatetic medical doctor[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). He studied history at the [University of Allahabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-allahabad)[6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/saeed-jaffrey-indian-born-actor-in-british-and-bollywood-fare-dies-at-86/2015/11/16/9efc41be-8c7d-11e5-baf4-bdf37355da0c_story.html) and took his degree in English there, then worked as an English announcer for [All India Radio](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-india-radio), where he began to write and perform[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). In Delhi he founded Unity Theatre, his own English-language company, whose staple was English plays[5](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006762/bio/).
**The United States.** In 1956 he moved to New York on a Fulbright Scholarship to study drama, continuing to perform Shakespeare[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) • [5](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey). He was the first Indian to tour the United States performing Shakespeare and the first Indian to appear on Broadway, playing Professor Godbole in a production of *A Passage to India* in 1958[5](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey). In America he mostly played white characters, including in *Witness for the Prosecution*, and his first film, *Parable* (1964), was a short Christian fable set in a traveling circus[5](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/saeed-jaffrey-actor-whose-career-took-in-india-hollywood-and-the-uk-and-who-worked-with-lean-and-attenborough-a6736981.html).
## British career
Jaffrey moved from the United States to the UK after his marriage to the actor [Madhur Jaffrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/madhur-jaffrey) ended in divorce[5](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey). In London he worked for the Urdu section of the [BBC World Service](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-world-service) and took other jobs, including as a shop assistant at Harrods, until he found regular work in West End theater[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) • [5](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey). His performance in the BBC television series *Gangsters* (1975) as Rafiq earned him countrywide recognition in the United Kingdom[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006762/bio/).
Television roles followed in *The Jewel in the Crown* (1984), *The Far Pavilions* (1984), and *Tandoori Nights* (1985)[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). In 1999 he played Ravi Desai, the corner-shop owner, in the long-running soap *Coronation Street*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey).
## Film roles
Jaffrey's first major feature role was Billy Fish, a Gurkha soldier and translator to the characters played by [Sean Connery](https://www.edgepedia.org/sean-connery) and [Michael Caine](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-caine), in [John Huston](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-huston)'s 1975 adaptation of Kipling's *The Man Who Would Be King*[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). In 1977 Satyajit Ray cast him as the decadent nobleman Mir Roshan Ali in *The Chess Players* (Shatranj Ke Khilari), set against the 1856 British annexation of Awadh[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). In Richard Attenborough's *Gandhi* (1982) he played Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and in David Lean's *A Passage to India* (1984) he played Advocate Hamidullah[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). In Stephen Frears's *My Beautiful Laundrette* he played Nasser, a successful British-Pakistani businessman[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/saeed-jaffrey) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). Across his screen career he worked with directors including John Huston, James Ivory, David Lean, Richard Attenborough, and Stephen Frears[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey-bollywood-and-british-screen-legend-dies-aged-86).
## Hindi cinema
Bollywood discovered him relatively late but drew him into a schedule where actors shot several films simultaneously; he reported on one occasion starting at 4 am and shooting five films in a day, changing costumes in a limousine between studios[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey). For *Chashme Buddoor* (1981), in which he played the paan-chewing shopkeeper Lalla Mian, he spent time with a paan-seller to prepare for the role[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). His Hindi credits later ran to prolific character-father parts through the 1990s, in films such as *Ram Teri Ganga Maili* (1985) and *Dil* (1990)[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey-bollywood-and-british-screen-legend-dies-aged-86).
## Radio
Radio ran through his whole career. In 1997 his adaptation of [Vikram Seth](https://www.edgepedia.org/vikram-seth)'s *A Suitable Boy* was produced on the BBC World Service, with Jaffrey playing all 86 characters[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey). As a freelance broadcaster at the BBC in leaner years he once read a Sri Lankan short story, impersonating each of its 26 characters[9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/column/saeed-jaffrey-the-great-entertainer/20151122.htm). He also won a Prix Italia for his performance alongside [Michael Redgrave](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-redgrave) in the [BBC Radio](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio) play "The Pump"[10](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/saeed-jaffrey/bio/3030206201/).
## Awards and recognition
Jaffrey received the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in India for *The Chess Players* and was made an Officer of the [British Empire](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-empire) in 1995, with the Warwick British Black and Asian Shakespeare database describing him as the first Asian actor to be awarded an OBE for services to drama[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) • [5](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey).
His BAFTA recognition is recorded two ways. The BFI obituary and UrduPoint describe him as nominated for a BAFTA for his role in *My Beautiful Laundrette*[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) • [11](https://www.urdupoint.com/showbiz/news/592643.html), while the Television Academy's biography states that in 1986 he won a BAFTA for best actor in a supporting role for playing Nasser[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/saeed-jaffrey). [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) lists his 1986 BAFTA credit as a nomination[10](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/saeed-jaffrey/bio/3030206201/). He was also nominated for a Genie Award in Canada for Srinivas Krishna's *Masala* (1992)[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015).
## Personal life and final years
Jaffrey married his fellow actor Madhur Bahadur in 1958; they had three children, Zia, Meera, and Sakina, before divorcing in 1966[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey). Madhur Jaffrey continued acting and became a famous food writer[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015). In 1980 he married his agent, Jennifer Sorrell, who survived him along with the three daughters of his first marriage[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey).
His death in November 2015, announced by his niece on Facebook, drew condolences from the Indian prime minister [Narendra Modi](https://www.edgepedia.org/narendra-modi), who praised his "flair and versatility"[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey-bollywood-and-british-screen-legend-dies-aged-86). His last film role was in *Everywhere and Nowhere* in 2011[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey).
## References
1. [Naseem Khan (2015). Saeed Jaffrey obituary, The Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey)
2. [Nancy Groves (2015). Saeed Jaffrey, Bollywood and British screen legend, dies aged 86, The Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/16/saeed-jaffrey-bollywood-and-british-screen-legend-dies-aged-86)
3. [Saeed Jaffrey, Television Academy.](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/saeed-jaffrey)
4. [Rachel Dwyer (2015). Saeed Jaffrey, 1929–2015, Sight and Sound, BFI.](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/saeed-jaffrey-1929-2015)
5. [Saeed Jaffrey, British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database, University of Warwick.](https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/saeed-jaffrey)
6. [Saeed Jaffrey, Indian-born actor in British and Bollywood fare, dies at 86, The Washington Post.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/saeed-jaffrey-indian-born-actor-in-british-and-bollywood-fare-dies-at-86/2015/11/16/9efc41be-8c7d-11e5-baf4-bdf37355da0c_story.html)
7. [Saeed Jaffrey – Biography, IMDb.](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006762/bio/)
8. [Saeed Jaffrey: Actor whose career took in India, Hollywood and the UK, The Independent.](https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/saeed-jaffrey-actor-whose-career-took-in-india-hollywood-and-the-uk-and-who-worked-with-lean-and-attenborough-a6736981.html)
9. [Sunil Sethi (2015). Saeed Jaffrey: The Great Entertainer, Rediff.com.](https://www.rediff.com/movies/column/saeed-jaffrey-the-great-entertainer/20151122.htm)
10. [Saeed Jaffrey Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide.](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/saeed-jaffrey/bio/3030206201/)
11. [BAFTA tribute to Saeed Jaffrey for his artistic services, UrduPoint.](https://www.urdupoint.com/showbiz/news/592643.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of South Asia › Indian screen actors, 1970s to 1990s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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