Alyque Padamsee death: Bollywood celebrities remember the ad guru, theatre visionary in heartfelt posts

Follow us on

Alyque Padamsee is no more. The Popular theatre personality and advertising doyen breathed his last in Mumbai on Saturday. He was 90. It is learnt that Padamsee was battling health issues for some time now. Padamsee's name is synonymous with some iconic ads in India, including Hamara Bajaj, Liril Girl under waterfall, MRF and Lalitaji for Sirf. The Ad filmmaker was also seen playing Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. He is a recipient of prestigious awards like Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna and Padmashri.

As soon as word of Alyque Padamsee death got out, Bollywood celebrities paid their tributes to the legendary ad guru Alyque Padamsee on Twitter.

Bollywood celebrities such as Nimrat Kaur, Jaaved Jaffrey, Boman Irani and others took to Twitter to pay respects to Padamsee, who was also known for his performance as Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Some among them spoke with Firstpost on Padamsee's passing, recollecting memories, conversations and projects from the past:

Pooja Bedi, actress: I worked with Alyque decades ago on the Kamasutra campaign. However, he's been a close friend of the family even since before I was born. He's always been warm, witty, irreverent and a good version of crazy. I loved his biryani and champagne-themed parties; the Christmas eve at Christmas Eve (the name of his building) which he regularly hosted. Thanks to his play Othello, my dad met the wonderful Nikki Bedi who later became my step-mom...Dolly Thakore is a mother figure to me and it was wonderful to see the camaraderie she shared with Alyque to the very end.

Kunal Vijaykar, food writer, TV show host: Alyque was a fountain of energy and creativity. He was an undying source of enthusiasm, passion, humour, encouragement and till his last breath full of vigour and spirit. Men like him do not die, they live forever.

Mahesh Dattani, playwright, director: Final Solutions (a play written by Dattani in 1992 that found much of its inspiration from the Ahmedabad riots between Hindus and Muslims in the years prior to the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition) was a play about tolerance and I felt that the play ought to be staged then despite the circumstances. In fact, it was possibly even more imperative to do so. Understandably, the circumstances meant that the sponsors pulled out. It was a sensitive time. Then the Bombay riots of January 1993 happened. Alyque Padamsee had commissioned this play and unfortunately found himself in a pickle where some things he had said had ruffled some feathers with the VHP. He had to make a personal apology and so again, the time wasn’t right to stage it.

Despite his vulnerability, though, Padamsee was keen to stage the play. Alyque was very firm that if you have something to say, just say it. When he watched Madhyam’s (a Bangalore-based NGO working with marginal voices) production of it in Bengaluru, he knew he had to bring it to Mumbai. When he announced it, his sponsors backed out...Here was the king of advertising with all these companies and brands working with him, (yet) they all said sorry and backed out. He put in his personal funds to bring this story to the stage. I drew immense courage from him and his ability to take a stand despite all odds. I wasn’t a very courageous person then but Alyque gave me the strength to stick to my convictions.

CLICK HERE to read this story in Hindi.