Saeed Jaffrey, the veteran Indian actor whose career spanned six decades and who was the patriarch of the first Asian family in Coronation Street, has died. He was 86 and had suffered a brain haemorrhage.
The Bollywood legend passed away in a London hospital at the weekend.
Among his many English language screen credits were Gandhi, My Beautiful Laundrette, A Passage to India, The Man Who Would Be King, The Jewel in the Crown, Holby City, Doctors and Gangsters.
Acclaimed films in his homeland included Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players, Raj Kapoor's Ram Teri Ganga Maili and Indra Kumar's Dil.
He played Ravi Desai in Coronation Street in 1999. The Desais took over running the corner shop from Fred Elliott (John Savident).
Jaffrey had never appeared in a soap before Coronation Street and at the time said he was attracted to the show because of its "wonderful scripts, beautiful characters, truthful acting and magical twists".
Born in Punjab in 1929, Jaffrey studied for a master's degree in history in India before setting up his own theatre company. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London and travelled to the US as a Fulbright scholar where he obtained a Master's degree in drama.
Along with his acclaimed film and TV career in the UK and India, Jaffrey also appeared on Broadway and in the West End and wrote and appeared in many productions on BBC Radio.
Paying tribute, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as "a multifaceted actor whose flair and versatility will always be remembered".
