Whether he was the most popular boy on campus or enacting the affable hero on the big screen, Farooque Shaikh was forever the gentleman actor. He was admired by his colleagues for his cool and polite demeanour. During the 1970s, movie-goers relished his performances, relating to his onscreen ‘aam aadmi’ persona.
Farooque Shaikh was born in Vadodara, Gujarat on March 25, 1948. He graduated from Mumbai’s St Xavier’s College and then studied law. Throughout his college years, he was active in theatre. Together with Shabana Azmi, his classmate, he won several inter-collegiate drama competitions. He was also associated with the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), which produced several progressive plays.
He was in his final year of law school, when M.S. Satyu approached him for his directorial debut Garam Hawa a pathbreaking movie in Indian cinema. He worked with legendary director Satyajit Ray in Shatranj Ke Khiladi. The 1979 hit movie Noorie marked his venture into Bollywood.
However, he was best known for starring in romantic comedies like Chashme Baddoor, Katha and Kissi Se Na Kehna. Farooque Shaikh also acted in television serials like Chamatkar and Ji Mantriji and played the genial host in a Bollywood talk show called Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai.
In recent years, he and Shabana Azmi were the lead pair of a famous play Tumhari Amrita, which had been running successfully for 21 years. He won the 2010 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Lahore. His latest release was Club 60 in which he played the part of a grieving father.