Veteran actor, adman Alyque Padamsee dies at 90

Veteran actor, theatre personality and advertising guru Alyque Padamsee died in Mumbai on Saturday morning, family sources said. He was 90.

He is survived by three former wives and four children besides other relatives.

Among other achievements, Padamsee is best remembered for his role of Mohammed Ali Jinnah in Richard Attenborough's multi-Oscar award winner classic, "Gandhi" (1982).

A renowned personality in English theatre productions, he produced notable plays like "Evita", "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Broken Images".

He achieved global fame in the brand advertising with memorable campaigns like the Liril girl in a waterfall, Lalitaji in Surf, Hamara Bajaj, MRF Muscle Man and the Kamasutra Couple among others.

Alyque, born to wealthy Khoja Muslim couple Jafferbhai and Kulsumbai Padamsee of Gujarat, one of his brothers is the famous modern Indian art painter Akbar Padamsee.

Condolences started pouring in on Twitter for the ad and theatre veteran and were led by President Ram Nath Kovind, who tweeted, "Sorry to hear of the passing of Alyque Padamsee, creative guru, theatre personality and doyen of our ad industry. My condolences to his family, friends and colleagues."

"Saddened to learn that Alyque Padamsee is no more. Alyque was a renowned actor & activist who shared my love for Mumbai. We worked together on several initiatives & despite his age & ill health, I always found him energetic & uncompromising in pursuit of his ideals. RIP," Congress leader Milind Deora tweeted.

Photographer Atul Kasbekar also tweeted, "Saddened to hear of the passing of advertising doyen #Alyque Padamsee When he was head of Lintas he'd given me some of my early breaks in advertising photography. Ever grateful for the break and opportunity."

Actor Boman Irani also tweeted that Padamsee gave him the first break in theatre.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien tweeted, "Goodbye, Alyque Padamsee. #RIP For our generation, you were the #advertising Creative Director we could only aspire to be. Your Big Ideas (like this commercial) will live forever." He tagged an Liril soap advertisement.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Preeti Sharma Menon said, "I am deeply saddened by the demise of Alyque Padamsee. The world knows him for his creative abilities but I know him for his values, for his ability to stand up for causes, his ability to inspire people to fight for justice." "A mentor to the Aam Aadmi Party, he will be sorely missed by us. He was always there to help us strategize and help us communicate better. I pray he is at peace and pray for strength to all those will be deeply saddened by his loss," she added.

with agency inputs