The charming Saeed Jaffrey

THE news of Saeed Jaffrey’s passing away left me with a twinge of sadness, not only because he was a screen legend and a veteran actor of innumerable Bollywood and international films, but also for another special reason. My one meeting with him had left an indelible print on my mind. I have always admired his versatility. What a performance he would give on screen; he had a knack of keeping one spellbound.

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This goes back to the nineties. I was recovering from a major accident in Bombay and had just started the slow process from being bed-bound to getting mobile. I was soon hobbling around on crutches and the next step was to get permission from my doctor for a Saturday night out-pass. My puppy-dog expressions finally had the stern man allowing me to leave the hospital for a few hours on the promise that I would be back in time.

Suddenly, freedom had a whole new meaning and my wicked gang decided to head out to ‘Trattoria’ which was the hottest hangout at the Taj Hotel then. Famous for its Italian cuisine, it also boasted of a stylish, but casual ambience. I had already started dreaming of their ‘cooked to perfection’ crusty pizzas, laced with mozzarella cheese and salami and sun-dried tomatoes, during the drive.

I distinctly remember being helped out of the car by my friends and armed with my crutches had headed towards the entrance. Raj, by far the most mischievous one, had suddenly grabbed one of my crutches with a glint in his eyes, and whispered, “We need to make a grand start to the evening. Watch the fun now.” So, that evening, I walked through the imposing doors, escorted by friends, hand in hand with Raj who had one of my crutches in his left hand. He made it even more dramatic by tucking in his right leg.

I know we got a whole lot of stares, smiles and amusing glances. While crossing the lobby area, I had someone tap me on my back and in a crisp British accent heard the words, “What’s this young lady? A calamity of a sympathetic nature or there’s more to this than meets the eye?”

When I whirled around, I stood face to face with Saeed Jaffrey. I think I gave him the broadest smile ever and his eyes sparkled in amusement when I related the whole story. He was extremely witty and had all of us in splits. He cracked a few jokes and then gave me a huge hug and walked into Trattoria. We followed albeit a few minutes later as we were too stunned and star-struck to even move.

I recall we had a lovely evening full of fun and laughter and a scrumptious meal to boot. Just when we had sat back to contemplate the dessert, a huge platter of an assortment of pastries and tarts made an appearance. The evergreen, dashing gentleman to the core, Saeed Jaffrey had sent it across. With a twinkle in his eyes and a wave of his hand, he walked away,  making us his fans for life.