KATHMANDU: Veteran Bollywood comedian Jagdeep passed away on Thursday morning owing to age-related health issues. He was 81.

Jagdeep is popular for his role of Soorma Bhopali in Ramesh Sippy’s blockbuster “Sholay” (1975).
Jagdeep started his career as a child artiste in BR Chopra’s 1951 release, “Afsana”, starring Ashok Kumar, Veena and Pran.

As a child artiste he also worked in the Raj Kapoor-produced “Ab Dilli Door Nahin”, KA Abbas’s “Munna”, Guru Dutt’s “Aar Paar”, Bimal Roy’s “Do Bigha Zamin” and the AVM-produced “Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke”.

Later, he made a mark with roles in films such as “Bhabhi” (1957) and “Barkha” (1959) among others.

Born on March 29, 1939 as Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri in Amritsar, Jagdeep acted in over 400 films.

(With inputs from Agencies)