Alyque Padamsee, veteran ad man and actor who played Jinnah, passes away at 90
He is best remembered for his portrayal of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in 1982 film ‘Gandhi’
Veteran actor, theatre personality and advertising guru Alyque Padamsee died in Mumbai on Saturday morning, family sources said. He was 90.
He had been ill for some time before he breathed his last at around 5.30am in a private hospital.
He is survived by two former wives and a former partner and four children, besides other relatives, several of them prominent names in the glamour and entertainment industry.
Among various professional achievements, Padamsee is best remembered for his role of a stern and stubborn Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning classic Gandhi (1982).
A renowned personality in the English theatre scene, he produced around 70 plays, including notable ones such as Evita, Tughlaqa, Jesus Christ Superstar, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire and Broken Images.
Among various professional achievements, Padamsee is best remembered for his role of a stern and stubborn Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning classic Gandhi (1982).
Career
During his career in advertising, most notably as the CEO of one of India’s biggest advertising agencies, Lintas India, from 1980-1994, Padamsee was involved in nurturing and building over a 100 major products/brands through catchy and imaginative campaigns.
He shot to global fame in brand promotions with memorable and highly successful advertising campaigns like the Liril girl, Lalitaji in Surf, Hamara Bajaj, MRF Muscle Man, Cherry Blossom and the Kamasutra Couple among others.
He shot to global fame in brand promotions with memorable and highly successful advertising campaigns like the Liril girl, Lalitaji in Surf, Hamara Bajaj, MRF Muscle Man, Cherry Blossom and the Kamasutra Couple among others.
Later, in 1994, he founded and was the CEO of AP Advertising Pvt Ltd, specialising in image and communication consultancies for celebrities and brands, both domestic and international.
Alyque was born in an aristocratic but highly conservative Khoja Muslim family to Jafferbhai and Kulsumbai Padamsee of Gujarat. One of his brothers is the famous modern Indian art painter Akbar Padamsee.
Padamsee was conferred several honours during his lifetime including the Padma Shri, Advertising Man of The Century and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna.