Saeed Jaffrey

He played Mr. Hamidullah in two adaptations of E.M. Forster's 1924 novel "A Passage to India": BBC Play of the Month: Passage to India (1965) and A Passage to India (1984). Ishaq Bux also appeared in both productions.

Saeed Jaffrey was born in Maler Kotla, Punjab, India. He was born on the 8th of January 1929. He attended University of Allahabad where he completed his post-graduate degree in history. He also attended the Staff Training Institute of All India Radio.

He started his career in drama, as the founder of his own English theatre company called the Unity Theatre, in New Delhi between 1951 and 1956. He also served with All India Radio as Radio Director during this period. He played a wide variety of roles in comedy and drama with equal ease and enthusiasm. His early theatrical work included roles in productions of Tennessee Williams, Fry, Priesty, Wilde, and Shakespeare.

In 1956, he finished his studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, a premier school of drama. He went to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship and took a second post-graduate degree in drama from the Catholic University in America.

With this experience as his base, he took his company on a tour of the United States doing Shakespearean plays in the year 1957. He was the first Indian Actor to have ever done so. He then became an active member of the Actors' Studio in New York. Here, he was noted for his acting in the play "Nights" and his role as the "Nawab" in Granada Television's adaptation of "The Jewel in the Crown". He married Madhur, actress and cookery writer, with whom he has had three children. He is now divorced from her.

from 1958 to 1960.

In the 1960s he made numerous stage appearances and participated in a number of tours. He also started his U. S. television career in these years. He was the director of publicity and advertising for the Government of India in their Tourist Office in the U. S.

During this period he acted in the off-Broadway play "A Tenth of an Inch Make The Difference" written and directed by Rolf Forsberg, who later cast Saeed Jaffrey and his wife Madhur in the noted short films, "Parable" in 1964, and "Stalked", starring Jack Hawkins, in 1968. Mr.

His performance in the BBC classic _Gangsters (1975) (TV)_, as "Rafiq" earned him countrywide recognition in the United Kingdom. This was even though he had acted in Theatres and appeared on television previously in the U. K.

Starred in a shelved film K.K. Films "Anaar" (1983) Starring Pradeep Khayyam, Pooja Saxena, Saeed Jaffery, Om Shivpuri, Music by Khayyam, Directed by K.K. Shahi.

Has appeared in Tandoori Nights (1985), Masala (1991), and Chicken Tikka Masala (2005), titles which are all references to ways of preparing food, most commonly chicken.

Starred in the shelved movie Tahir Films "Hum Kya Badle"(1988) Starring Ravindra Mahajani, Upasna Khosla,Saeed Jaffery, Ramesh Deo,Seema Deo,Music by Usha Khanna, Yuvraj Singh.

Had three daughters from his marriage to actress/cookbook writer Madhur Jaffrey: Zia, Meera Jaffrey, and actress Sakina Jaffrey, who appeared with her father in the film Masala (1991).

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to drama.

Wrote a autobiography book in 1998 titled "Saeed - An Actor's Journey". It was highly criticized for too much bold and sexual revelation of his life.