Farooq Sheikh, The first time I met him was during the 140 years celebrations of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Though, many movie stars, business men, foreign dignitaries etc. were present but this was man was something special and different. He stood out among the sea of celebrities.
This celebration was happening a few weeks after the 26/11 attacks and the mood was rather somber, as the family of one of the martyrs IPS officer Ashok Kamte were also present. He was in his trademark style, a pure white trademark kurta and pyajama very calm and composed. Then, I didn't knew that he was also the alumni of our college and he had done some tremendous contributions to Hindi Theatre along with Shabana Azmi during their college days.
We have a larger than life image of a movie star, but here is a man so simple, humble and so respectful. This nature of his was visible to us when he was hosting the show "Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai". He made people feel so comfortable with his mannerisms, impeccable Hindi diction and his knowledge about the society.
I still remember his programs Ji Mantirji and Chamatkar. He was one of the few movie stars who was on TV then and now each and every star are willing to be part of TV.
Not only was he known for friendship, trust and mannerisms, he was also known for his food. Everyone used to savor his sweet dishes, biryani and mangoes.
The last time I met him was few days before release of his movie, Listen...Amaya he was with his co-star Deepti Naval for an interview at Cafe Comic Library, Versova.
I always wished he should work more, in fact he had started working a lot more recently. He is one of the gems of Hindi Film industry. I don't like superstars like Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar etc and the fact that we distinguish between Bollywood and parallel cinema. for me actors like Pankaj Kapoor, Irfan, Nawazuddin, Annu Kapoor are the real stars they are the real stars of Hindi cinema. I wish these actors take more work and do justice to their talent.
Thanks for your contributions to St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, Theatre, Bollywood and humanity. You are a true superstar and you would be missed.
"Once a Xavierite, Always a Xavierite"
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