Actor Javed Khan Amrohi, known for Nukkad and Lagaan, is no more

Veteran theatre and film actor Javed Khan Amrohi, best known for his roles in popular Doordarshan serial Nukkad and films such as Lagaan and Chak De India, died on Tuesday due to lung failure at a hospital in Mumbai. He was in his early 70s. The veteran actor was bedridden for the past one year.

Actor Akhilendra Mishra, Amrohi’s friend from his theatre days and co-star of Lagaan, said he was ailing for a long time. “He was my senior in theatre. He was an active member of IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association) in Mumbai since the 1970s,” Mishra told.

Having started his career with theatre after graduating from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Amrohi appeared in smaller yet pivotal roles in over 150 films and close to a dozen TV shows. He is best known for playing barber Karim in the late 1980s TV show Nukkad; Anand Akela, one of the suitors of Raveena Tandon’s character in Andaz Apna Apna; the cricket commentator in Lagaan, and a support staff of the Indian women’s hockey team in Chak De India.

Amrohi’s other notable titles are 90s hit films such as Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke, Laadla, Ishq, and the 1988 TV series Mirza Ghalib. His last reported film credit was Sadak 2 (2020), in which he reprised his role of Pakya from the 1991 original film Sadak.

Stage and film actor Danish Husain took to Twitter to pay condolences. “Gutted to hear about #JavedKhanAmrohi bhai’s demise. This seems to be a season of farewells. Condolences to his family, friends, colleagues @iptamumbai #Nukkad #Lagaan, and so on and so forth,” Husain wrote.

The actor is survived by a son and a daughter.