Famous artistes who breathed their last in 2015
The entertainment industry lost many of its noted and talented artistes in the bygone year. While some took their last breath at a ripe age, some others passed away quite young.
Yesteryear actress Sadhana Shivdasani, who was popular for her fringe hair-cut and fashion sense during the ‘golden era’ of Bollywood passed away on December 25, 2015. The 74-year-old actress was admitted at Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital following high fever where she breathed her last. She was also said to have had cancer. Sadhana became famous as ‘Mystery Girl’ for her work in suspense thrillers like ‘Woh Kaun Thi?’, ‘Mera Saaya’ and ‘Anita’.
Veteran actor Saeed Jaffrey who delighted fans with his masterful performances in numerous Bollywood and Hollywood films died in London on November 16, 2015 aged 86. The Indian-born British actor Jaffrey started his career in All India Radio before moving to America as a Fulbright scholar where he studied drama from The Catholic University of America. One of the most accomplished actors of his time, Jaffrey is credited for his sterling performances ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’, ‘Gandhi’, ‘A Passage to India’, Masoom, ‘Heena’, ‘Ram Tere Ganga Maili’, ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ and several others.
Renowned music composer, lyricist and singer Ravindra Jain passed away on October 9, 2015 at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital following multiple organ failure. He was 71. Jain overcame his disability of blindness and became one of the most successful composers and is noted for his works in ‘Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se’, ‘Chor Machaye Shor’, ‘Geet Gaata Chal’, ‘Chitchor’ and several others. He also composed music for regional language films including, Malayalam, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Telugu and others. During the 1980s and 1990s, he widely composed music for many mythological movies and television serials by Ramanand Sagar.
Television, Mohan Bhandari passed away on September 24, 2015 after a long battle with brain tumor. He was one of the recognizable faces of the small screen. Mohan left his job at the State Bank of India over two decades ago to pursue his acting interest. He played some memorable roles in serials like ‘Saath Phere’, ‘Parampara’, ‘Kitty Party’, ‘Karz’ and others. He also tried his hands at movies and acted in ‘Mangal Panday: The Rising’, ‘Paheli’ and ‘Yalgaar’. His son Dhruv Bhandari is also an actor and was seen in teleseries ‘Tere Sheher Main’.
Music composer and singer Aadesh Shrivastav passed away in Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on September 5, 2015, just a day after he turned 51. The musician was battling relapsed cancer and was in the hospital for over a month. He got his first big break with film ‘Kanyadaan’ in 1993, but the film could not be released and its songs went unnoticed. He has worked in over 100 films and has delivered chartbusters like ‘Kya ada kya jalwe tere Paro’, ‘Haathon mein aa gaya jo kal’, ‘Sona sona’, ‘Shava shava’, ‘Gustakhiyaan’, ‘Suno na suno na’, ‘Mora Piya’ among others.
Small screen heartthrob Sanjit Bedi who shot to fame as Dr Omi in popular medical drama ‘Sanjivani’ died at a Mumbai hospital on June 23, 2015. The actor was suffering from a brain disease and was in coma for sometime before he passed away. The young actor was also a part of other hit shows like ‘Jaane Kya Baat Huyi’, ‘Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasman’, ‘Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka’ and ‘Kasautii Zindagii Kay.
Television and film actress Sudha Shivpuri who attained widespread recognition as ‘Baa’ in the popular teleseries ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi’ passed away on May 20, 2015. She was 77. Besides playing the family matriarch in Ekta Kapoor’s soap, Sudha was also seen in other dramas like ‘Rishtey’, ‘Kasam Se’, ‘Bandhan’ etc. She also acted in films like ‘Pinjar’ (2003), ‘Maya Memsaab’ (1993), ‘Insaf Ka Tarazu’ (1980) and some others.
Model-turned-actress Shikha Joshi who is known for her role in the National Award winning film ‘B.A.Pass’ committed suicide on May 16, 2015 by slitting her throat with a kitchen knife at her Versova flat in Mumbai. The 40-year-old struggling actress was said to have essayed small roles in television shows, but did not have a consistent source of income. She is survived by a teenage daughter.
Theatre-cum-film actor Ashraf-Ul-Haque, who had worked in over 30 Bollywood films like ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, ‘Traffic Signal’, Ravaan’ died on February 15, 2015 at the age of 45. He was suffering from a bone marrow dysfunction. He is survived by his wife and a nine-year-old son. The Assam-born actor started his career with theatres and worked with renowned playwrights including Ram Gopal Bajaj before trying his luck in Bollywood. An alumnus of the prestigious National School of Drama, Ashraf-Ul-Haque played the lead role in the National Award winning film ‘The Lost Behrupiya’ (2013) and was last seen in Ketan Mehta’s ‘Manjhi - The Mountain Man’ which released posthumously in August.
