Farewell

He was often referred to as the blue-eyed boy of parallel cinema. On Saturday morning, December 28, veteran actor Farooque Sheikh (65) succumbed to a cardiac arrest while holidaying in Dubai, leaving behind a legacy of fine performances. For all his admirers and colleagues in the industry, it was a mournful start to the weekend.
Deepti Naval, one of his closest friends and colleagues, was at a loss for words when she heard the news. She said, "We have done so many films together. We started out with Chashme Buddoor. I remember we used to behave like children on the sets but Sai Paranjpye taught us how to act. I can't believe he is no more."
Farooque's nuanced performance were not just limited to celluloid, he was an astute performer on stage too. His co-star Shabana Azmi, from one of his most popular and longest running plays Tumhari Amrita, says, "Tumhari Amrita completed 21 years but Farooque never wanted to call it quits. He also never publicised his social work. He was a five-time namaz praying Muslim and his Urdu was impeccable. He was very fond of reading too." Divya Dutta, who became a part of the play in later years, recalls, "Once I requested to watch him rehearse for Tumhari Amrita and he agreed immediately. He did not get angry for once. I met him many times, especially after I joined the play. He was a charming and a gentle human being. It's a big loss for the industry."
Kirron Kher too remembers Farooque as a man who never made a noise about his philanthropic pursuits. She says, "He was such a nice man. He was working for the education of the youth in UP but never made a noise about it. I know he was hurt when the government was allotting Rajya Sabha seats and ignored him, without acknowledging his work. We just exchanged wishes on Christmas. Our last shoot together was for Saas Bahu Aur Sensex. The shoot was in Pune and he would stop by at Chembur to buy gulab jamuns from Jhamas for the entire unit. We would have long chats during the shoot. He had a great sense of humour."
Farooque's last film was the recently released Club 60 with Sarika. The actress who is yet to come to terms with the news, says, "This has come as a huge shock. There was no indication that this would happen. We would keep discussing how to celebrate the success of our film. He was a big foodie and most of our conversations would be about which food joint to celebrate at. He was very dignified and had a great sense of humour. It's very rare to find such decent people in the industry. I'm feeling so sad. I can imagine how sad our co-actor Satish Shah must be, since they have been together since college. They would keep sharing their stories from college that were all so humorous."
Yusuf Shaikh, who produced Club 60 recalls Farouque's love for sweets. "He loved sweets immensely. He used to say, Arre yar kha lo, mann ko kyun maar rahe ho'. He loved talking to me in Gujarati. I will miss him terribly."
Swara Bhaskar says she feels blessed to have had a chance to work with Farooque in Listen... Amaya. "I discovered at that time that this legend of an actor was also a great storyteller. And so, shooting with him became a treat of stories, food, wit and scintillating conversation. I recall the respect and dignity with which he treated every fan and well-wisher who came up to him. Farooque sir could turn the dullest moment bright with a single witty line," she says.
Among his younger co-stars, Jackyy Bhagnani is also shaken by the news. "I'm blank right now. I was shooting with him two days ago in Indore for Youngistaan after which he left for Dubai. I used to keep telling him he is the youngest person on the sets. In fact yesterday was my birthday and he had left an emotional message about my acting before leaving for Dubai. He had wrapped up his part of the film, as he wanted to finish his work before leaving. Maybe he knew it was coming. We have cancelled the shoot as of now as no one is in the mood after hearing this news."