Bollywood lost Asrani, one of its finest comedians who made generations laugh. Govardhan Asrani, fondly known as Asrani, died on Monday at the age of 84.
Active in Hindi cinema for over five decades, Asrani has certainly left an irreplaceable legacy based on laughs and impeccable comic timing.
Confirming the news to ANI, his manager Babu Bhai Thiba said that the veteran actor breathed his last at 3 pm at Arogya Nidhi Hospital in Juhu. He was cremated through electric cremation at the Santa Cruz crematorium at 8 pm the same evening.
Born on January 1, 1940 in Jaipur, Asrani grew up in a middle-class Sindhi family. His father ran a carpet business, but young Govardhan had no interest in business.
Instead, he focused his attention on the performing arts. He completed his schooling from St. Xavier’s School and later graduated from Rajasthan College, also supporting himself by working as a voice artist in Jaipur.
Asrani’s attraction towards acting started taking shape during his college days. From 1960 to 1962, he trained under ‘Sahitya Kalabhai Thakkar’ and in 1964 joined the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. This decision soon decided the direction of his life.
Asrani started his career in 1967 with ‘Hare Kanch Ki Chudiyan’, in which he played the role of actor Biswajeet’s friend. Before venturing into Hindi cinema, he worked as a lead actor in several Gujarati films.
After this, his career was such that very few in the history of Bollywood can match it; Over 350 films across genres, generations and eras. Although he could play serious and supporting roles with equal ease, his comedic style made him a fan favorite.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, Asrani was a familiar face on the big screen, an actor who could make even the smallest of scenes powerful. Her pairing with Rajesh Khanna is one of the most successful in Bollywood, and the two worked together in more than 25 films between 1972 and 1991.
Many memorable performances include films like ‘Chupke Chupke,’ ‘Chhoti Si Baat,’ ‘Rafu Chakkar, Bawarchi,’ ‘Koshish,’ and ‘Mere Apne,’ which are still a joy to watch today.
But if any one role immortalized Asrani forever, it was the role of an eccentric jail warden in Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 classic ‘Sholay’.
With his rolling eyes, military cap and exaggerated English, Asrani’s “We are the jailers of the British era!” It became a dialogue that endured even after the film, repeated in classrooms and theater halls, and still alive in the living rooms of generations.
Despite such a vast body of work, Asrani never remained confined to a single sphere. He wrote, directed and acted in the 1977 film ‘Chala Murari Hero Banne’, which received critical acclaim for its humor and heart-touching style. He later directed ‘Salaam Memsaab’ (1979) and remained active in Gujarati cinema, where he received equal love from the audience.
Moving from the golden age of Hindi cinema into the new millennium, Asrani remained an enduring personality for decades. In the 2000s, he gained new popularity among young audiences with his roles in ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Bhagam Bhag’, ‘Dhamaal’, ‘Welcome’ and ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, proving once again that his comic timing is as sharp as ever.
Asrani’s work has earned him numerous honours, including two Filmfare Awards for Best Comedian, but perhaps his greatest achievement was his ability to make the audience laugh without malice, which few actors do naturally.
He is survived by his wife Manju Asrani, his sister and nephew. The couple had no children.
For many, his demise marks the end of an era when humor in Bollywood was based on innocence and timelessness rather than humor. Asrani represented a generation of actors who seamlessly combined art and entertainment and left behind characters that are remembered by generations even decades later.
