Farooq Sheikh, the most adored common man of Indian Cinema passed away.
An impromptu exit is not what I expected from him. It’s Amrita who leaves right? I know because I have seen it a number of times. How did he forget his act?
I was born in an era when Shah Rukh was most popular than Farooq, yet it was Chashm-e-baddoor that I looked forward to more than Baazigar. He never bashed any villain, never danced around trees, never got involved in a criminal case. He smoked cigarette butts like nobody’s business, rode on a black Bullet ‘Kali Ghodi’ and ate tutti-frutti with Miss Chamko. For me he was the most charming and loved common man of Indian Cinema.
“Naukri mili hai tankhwa nahi, pehli tareekh se badi company mein, chota afsar ban raha hoon”. I remember the unadulterated innocence on his face when he took out that stale laddoo from a tea-cup to offer the first woman he had probably spoken to – “Aap laddo khaayengi? Meri maa bohot acche laddoo banati hai.” I saw a different side of him in Tumhari Amrita. Coy or a coward, I still had to figure. But, who will read out all those letters to Amrita?
