Veteran film comedian Jagdeep was cremated at Mazgaon in Mumbai this morning in the presence of his family members and close friends. He died last night at his residence due to age related issues. He was 81. He is survived by sons – actor Jaaved Jafri and producer Naved Jafri.

Jagdeep, whose real name was Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri, started his journey in cinema with the 1951 film “Afsana”, which marked filmmaker BR Chopra’s directorial debut. After Afsana , Jagdeep kept picking up big and small roles with directing greats like KA Abbas in “Munna”, Guru Dutt in “Aar Paar” and Bimal Roy in “Do Bigha Zamin”. Jagdeep had a prolific career, but it is his role as Soorma Bhopali in the 1975 blockbuster “Sholay” that became truly iconic.