Anil Kapoor: Saeed Jaffrey sought the camera's blessings before every shot

I met Saeed Jaffrey saab for the first time during the shooting of 'Mashaal' in 1984. I remember him as a fair gentleman who was very British. Hearing him speak angrezi, I wondered if he could even speak Hindi. I was stumped when I heard him. His command over Hindi and Urdu was unbelievable! And that was perhaps why Satyajit Ray signed him for 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi'.
READ: Veteran actor Saeed Jaffrey passes away at 86 He played Mir Roshan Ali while Sanjeev Kumar was Mirza Sajjad Ali in the '77 historical drama.The inseparable buddies are so obsessed with the game of chess that they neglect their wives, abandon their families and disown their responsibilities to play in exile, untroubled that the British are set to overthrow their Nawab, Wajid Ali Shah, and take control of Awadh. I am a huge admirer of Sanjeev Kumar but in this film, I have to admit, Saeed saab outscored him with his perfect diction. He looked every inch the Lucknavi nobleman.
Even off screen, he looked like a respectable raees till he suddenly started abusing. But he made even gaalis sound beautiful, like pearls or, even better, Ghalib ke sher. Once a fan walked up to him and started praising him to the skies, “Saeed saab aap ne zabardast kaam kiya hai." Delighted, he wondered which film the man was talking about, only to learn that he was really impressed by a Pan Parag commercial and not a performance with Sean Connery, Dilip Kumar or Sanjeev Kumar. Bas aur kya, he abused the man roundly. Satish Kaushik does a great takeoff on this! Besides 'Mashaal', we worked together in 'Vijay', 'Eeshwar', 'Ram Lakhan', 'Ghar Ho To Aisa' and 'Trimurti'. In 'Ram Lakhan', he had more scenes with Raakheeji but in 'Eeshwar', we had a lot of screen time together and he impressed me with his timing.
His confrontation scenes with Raza Murad in 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili' when he takes up for Mandakini's Ganga were also memorable. High drama as opposed to the subtle performance in 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi'. Even in 'Mashaal' he gave Dilip (Kumar) saab equal takkar! On the sets you wondered if he would “connect" on screen. Not only did he connect, he was pure magic on camera.In fact, the camera was his God. Before every shot, he would go up to it, touch it, reverently, and seek its blessings.
He had just one weakness. He loved drinking. But no matter how long he stayed up, he'd be on the sets at 7 am sharp, fresh, raring to go, seeking the camera's blessings. I hadn't met him since he went on a sabbatical. But Saaed saab will always be remembered for his talent, dignity, passion and command over the language.
As told to Roshmila Bhattacharya
About Saeed Jaffrey
The veteran, who passed away at the age of 86 following a brain haemorrhage in London, had carved a niche for himself as a prolific actor with films like Shatranj Ke like Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977), Masoom (1983), Chashme Buddoor(1981) and Mandi (1983).
Born in Punjab's Maler Kotla city, he moved to Delhi, where he founded his own English language company, Unity Theatre.
He married twice first to co-actress and travel writer Mehrunima (Madhur Jaffrey). They parted in 1965. He later married Jennifer, his casting agent, in 1980.Saeed and Madhur have three daughters together, Meera, Zia and Sakina, the latter is an actress.
He appeared in over 200 movies, some of them international projects like Gandhi, The Man Who Would Be King, A Passage to India, Sphinx, My Beautiful Laundrette, The Deceivers and After Midnight. He was also part of TV series like Gangster, The Jewel in the Crown, Common as Muck and Coronation Street. He was the first Indian to be conferred with the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to drama.
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