The life might end one day but the soul of epics remains in many hearts!

Farooque Shaikh continues to evoke much affection and respect within the film fraternity. Indian Films & TV Directors Association organizes a tribute to late Farooque Shaikh at the S P Jain Auditorium in Bhavan’s College on 16th January 2014, where some of India’s finest directors will assemble to recall the experience of working with the remarkable actor.

The list of stalwarts is led by MS Sathyu who introduced Sheikh in ‘Garm Hawa’ in 1973. Muzaffar Ali who selected the actor to play a lead in nearly all of the films he directed, starting with ‘Gaman’ (1978) to ‘Umrao Jaan’ (1981) and ‘Anjuman’ (1986). It was while shooting ‘Anjuman’ that Sheikh became acquainted with the plight of the impoverished chikankari artisans of Lucknow. It spawned a lifelong association with the classic white embroidered kurta-pyjama that remained his unique hallmark. Admired by the karigar skills and pristine beauty of fabric, he then used to order his outfits directly from the karigars.

The tribute will feature many veteran & new age Hindi film directors, actors & writers who worked with him, naming few – Sagar Sarhadi, Ramesh Talwar, Raman Kumar, Pankaj Parashar, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, Sanjay Tripathi, Avinash Kumar Singh, Shona Urvashi, Suhail Tatari, Javed Siddiqui and Anand Rai. Among his co-actors Deepti Naval will share her thoughts on their long working partnership spanning Doordarshan television shows leading on to ‘Chashme Buddoor’ right up to ‘Listen Amaya’ last year.

It is organised by Ashoke Pandit – President of the Indian Films & TV Directors Association who said, “We thought we should invite all the directors who have worked with the late veteran actor Shaikh to share interesting moments with the actor, whether these are humorous or sensitive or simply give an insight into his unique personality. They will narrate little trivia which will be useful to those who have merely seen Shaikh on screen and want to know more about him as an actor & human being. This great actor and exceptional human being deserve to be remembered in the most dignified way. What better than inviting all his directors upon a common forum to celebrate his talent and his persona”

The Indian Films & Television Directors’ Association is an organization which aims to unite the film & television directors, assistant directors, co – directors, 2nd unit directors, engaged in the making of Feature films; Short films; Documentaries; TV films and all categories of TV programs, Video films; Music Videos; Ad films; Corporate films etc and to inculcate self discipline, fraternal goodwill and to promote professionalism among its members and to regulate their relations with each other as well as with others, involved in the films and television productions.

Source : Sachin Murdeshwar