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Mumbai, Actor Raza Murad on Tuesday paid an emotional tribute to his veteran co-star Asrani, calling him his ‘mentor’ and a talented all-rounder with the ability to make the audience laugh and entertain.
Murad told PTI Video that Asrani, who died on Monday, was a versatile actor with excellent comic timing.
He praised Asrani as a consummate entertainer whose talent, humility and warmth will forever remain in Indian cinema.
“Nobody will be able to fill his shoes as an actor,” he said.
Veteran actor Govardhan Asrani died on Monday in Mumbai at the age of 84.
Expressing grief, Murad said that Asrani was not only a remarkable actor but also his mentor and guide during the early days of his training at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.
Murad said, “I had many relationships with him. He was my mentor. At FTII, he took our classes for diction, voice and speech, imagination and movement. For two years we learned under him. Then he became my co-actor. From being my teacher, he became my collaborator,” Murad said.
He recalled their first collaboration in “Namak Haraam”, followed by Asrani’s directorial venture “Dil Hi Toh Hai”.
Murad further added, “We later worked together in countless films. He was gifted by God that he could make people laugh at any time. He came into this world to entertain others and make them happy.”
He said that Asrani is more than a comedian.
Murad said, “He was a versatile actor, an all-rounder. He played a British-era jailer in ‘Sholay’, which was an iconic comic role. But he also did villain roles in ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Nikah’, ‘Aakrosh’ and serious roles like ‘Guddi’. Whatever role he played, he did justice to it with complete command and dexterity.”
He noted Asrani’s vast work in over 350 films and his unmatched timing in comedy.
He said, “His comic timing was extraordinary, perhaps unmatched in history. Remember that scene in ‘Sholay’ when Asrani picks up the hot iron rod and says, ‘We are the jailers of the British era’… It was pure magic, what comedy timing, it was unmatched.”
Murad also said that Asrani was very shy about his personal life and ‘never turned his home into a studio’.
He said that the veteran actor wished that his death should not be made an “incident” and this is right as everyone has the right to live and die as per their wish.
Asrani’s last rites were performed at the Santa Cruz crematorium on Monday evening in the presence of family members and close friends.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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