Veteran actress Shammi Rabadi passes away at 89
Shammi Rabadi was 89
Veteran actress Shammi Rabadi passed away at her home in Mumbai after prolonged illness late on Monday. She was 89.
According to Bollywood personality Ashok Shekhar, she had been ailing for some time. She breathed her last at her Juhu Circle home. Her funeral will be performed at the Oshiwara cemetery later in the day.
Shammi, whose real name was Nargis, was a Parsi and the former wife of legendary Bollywood filmmaker, the late Sultan Ahmed. She was fondly addressed as ‘Shammi aunty’ by Bollywood celebrities.
In a career spanning nearly six decades, she became a popular character artist portraying supporting roles of aunt, granny, elder spinster in the family, et al, besides acting for television serials.
Her brilliant comic timing in shows like ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’, ‘Zabaan Sambhal Ke’ and ‘Shriman Shrimati’ earned her adulation from all corners of the country.
The octagenarian appeared in over 100 films, with some of her more memorable ones being ‘ Half Ticket’, ‘Ishaara’, ‘Gopi Kishan’, ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’ among others. She last appeared in Farah Khan and Boman Irani-starrer ‘Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi’.
Bollywood’s megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who had shared screen space with the actress in Khuda Gawah, took to his social media handle to share the news in a tweet that read, “Shammi Aunty… prolific actress, years of contribution to the Industry, dear family friend… passes away ..!! A long suffered illness, age… Sad… slowly, slowly they all go away…”
T 2735 – Prayers and fond remembrances for Shammi Aunty .. so dear to us as family .. lost to us today ..?
some early pictures as a young entrant to films .. and one with Nargis ji at an event ; Shammi Aunty’s real name was also Nargis ! pic.twitter.com/pfgzd1Tff3— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) March 6, 2018
Congress leader and Sunil Dutt’s daughter Priya Dutt also took to her microblogging account and wrote, “Shammi aunty to me and a great actor of yesteryears passed away today. She was my mother’s dear friend and someone we all loved very much. May her soul rest in peace and her laughter and contagious smile rock the heavens. Be In peace with your friends.”
