India: Actor Javed Khan Amrohi, best known for Lagaan, dies of lung failure

Veteran theatre and film actor Javed Khan Amrohi, best known for his roles in popular DD serial Nukkad and films such as Lagaan and Chak De! India, died on Tuesday due to lung failure at a hospital in Mumbai, according to his filmmaker Ramesh Talwar.

He was in his early 70s. The veteran actor was suffering from breathing ailment and was bedridden for the past one year. He was undergoing treatment at Surya Nursing Home in suburban Mumbai, Talwar told PTI.

“He passed away at the hospital around 1pm as both his lungs failed,” he added.

Actor Akhilendra Mishra, Amrohi’s frequent collaborator from his theatre days and co-star of Lagaan, said he was ailing for a long time.

“He was my senior in theatre. He was an active member of IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association) Mumbai since the 1970s,” Mishra told PTI.

The actor’s last rites will be performed at the Oshiwara Kabristan at 7.30pm, he added.

Having started his career with theatre after graduating from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Amrohi appeared in smaller yet pivotal roles in over 150 films and close to a dozen TV shows.

He is best known for playing the barber Karim in the late 1980s TV show Nukkad; Anand Akela, one of the suitors of Raveena Tandon’s character in Andaz Apna Apna; the cricket commentator in Lagaan, and a support staff of the Indian Women's Hockey team in Chak De! India.

Stage and film actor Danish Husain took to Twitter to pay condolences.

“Gutted to hear about #JavedKhanAmrohi Bhai’s demise. This seems to be a season of farewell. Condolences to his family, friends, colleagues @iptamumbai #Nukkadd #Lagaan, and so on and so forth," Husain wrote. See post here.

Amrohi’s other notable titles are ’90s hit films such as Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke, Laadla, Ishq, and the 1988 TV series Mirza Ghalib. His last reported film credit was Sadak 2 (2020), in which he reprised his role of Pakya from the 1991 original Sadak.

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