Ranjit Chowdhry Explained

Ranjit Chowdhry
Other Names:Ranjit Chowdhary
Ranjit Chowdhury
Birth Date:19 September 1955
Birth Place:Mumbai, India
Death Date:15 April 2020 (aged 64)
Death Place:Mumbai, India
Children:1
Parents:Pearl Padamsee (mother), Alyque Padamsee (Step-father)

Ranjit Chowdhry (19 September 1955 – 15 April 2020)[1] was an Indian character actor, known for his roles in television, movies, and theatre.[2] He appeared in two episodes of The Office, as Vikram, a telemarketer who worked with Michael, and was briefly hired for The Michael Scott Paper Company.

For his role as Rocky in Deepa Mehta's 2002 film Bollywood/Hollywood, he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at the 23rd Genie Awards[3] [4] His other most noted role was in Last Holiday (2006), starring Queen Latifah.[5]

Life and career

Ranjit was born and raised in Mumbai in a family with a theatre background, where he received his early education at Campion School, Mumbai, and started his acting career. His father is from a Gujjar background, while his mother, Pearl Padamsee, was of partial Jewish descent on her mother's side, but remained Christian during her life. He made his film debut in Basu Chatterjee's Khatta Meetha, following which he played prominent parts in Hindi comedy classics such as Basu Chatterjee's Baton Baton Mein (1979) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Khubsoorat (1980). Thereafter, he moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He wrote the screenplay and acted in Sam & Me (directed by Deepa Mehta), which won an honorable mention at Cannes in 1991.[6]

He was a guest star in , and had appeared in two seasons of The Office and Prison Break.[7] [8] [9]

Sanjay Gupta, who worked with Chowdhry on the film Kaante, tweeted that his performances were a joy and "KHATTA MEETHA is my favourite."[8]

Personal life

His mother, Pearl Padamsee, was a well-known theatre personality, drama teacher and actress on stage and film. His stepfather, Alyque Padamsee, was a theatre actor and director who also headed an advertising company in Mumbai. He had one older sister named Rohini (c. 1951 – 26 September 1961), who died from nephritis.[10] [11] [12]

Death

Chowdhry was in Mumbai for a dental procedure near the end of 2019, and was stuck in India due to the spread of COVID-19 and related lockdown.Chowdhry was admitted into Breach Candy Hospital, in Mumbai, on 14 April 2020 for a ruptured ulcer in the intestine, and underwent emergency surgery. He died on 15 April 2020 due to complications from surgery.[13] [14]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1978Khatta Meetha Russie Mistry
1979Baton Baton Mein Sabhi Perreira
1980Khubsoorat Jagan Gupta
1981Chakra Benwa
1981Kaalia Boot Polish Boy
1990Lonely in America Arun
1991Sam & Me Nikhil 'Shwartza' Parikh
1991Mississippi Masala Anil
1993The Night We Never Met Cabbie
1994It Could Happen to You Mr. Patel
1994Bandit Queen Shiv Narain
1994Camilla Officer Kapur
1994The Mesmerist Damodar
1994Boozecan Snake
1995The Perez Family Indian immigration official
1996Girl 6 Indian Shopkeeper
1996Fire Mundu
1996 Babu
1996I'm Not Rappaport Kamir
1997His & Hers Taxi Driver
1998Such a Long Journey Pavement Artist
1999Coming Soon Afshin
2000Autumn in New York Fakir
2000King of the Jungle Mr. Sith
2002Bollywood/Hollywood Rocky
2002Kaante Det. Constable
2005Building Girl Mr. Singh
2006Last Holiday Dr. Gupta
2006American Blend Yogi
2006Kettle of Fish Doorman
2006Prison Break Dr. Marvin Gudat 2 episodes
2006Hope & a Little Sugar Ghosh
2007, 2009The OfficeVikram Episodes: "Money"
"Dream Team"
2009Today's Special Regular #1
2010God's Land Raja Chatterjee
2011Breakaway Mr. Patel Senior

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Khubsoorat actor Ranjit Chowdhry passes away at the age of 65. PINKVILLA. en. 15 April 2020.
  2. https://archive.today/20110912080012/http://www.offoffonline.com/reviews.php?id=1361 Slowly, With Love
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20121021143916/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-01-03/news-interviews/27263557_1_deepa-mehta-nominations-rahul-khanna Bollywood Hollywood gets 5 Genie nominations
  4. http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20030103-1.html Article describing a movie with Ranjit nominated for an award
  5. http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/jan/13ranjit.htm Interview with Ranjit Chowdhry including a photograph
  6. Book: Melnyk, George. Film and the City: The Urban Imaginary in Canadian Cinema. 1 May 2014. Athabasca University Press. 978-1-927356-59-3. en.
  7. News: Ranjit Chowdhry Dies: 'The Office' And 'Prison Break' Star Was 64 . . Bruce . Haring . 17 April 2020 . . 18 April 2020.
  8. News: The Office Actor Ranjit Chowdhry Dies at 65, Remembered as 'a True Original' . Ashley . Boucher . . 17 April 2020 . Yahoo! . 18 April 2020.
  9. News: Ranjit Chowdhry death: The Office star and 'towering icon' of Bollywood dies aged . Roisin . O'Connor . . 18 April 2020 . 18 April 2020.
  10. Web site: The Alyque Padamsee brand of life. Singh. Sangeetha. 9 November 2002. Times of India. 9 February 2010.
  11. Web site: A great ad is an ad that generates great sales. Roy Mitra. Indrani. 4 October 2006. Rediff. 9 February 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100122082849/http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/oct/04inter.htm. 22 January 2010.
  12. Web site: Being Alyque Padamsee: India's dream merchant. SenGupta . Anuradha . 3 August 2008. CNN-IBN. 9 February 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100125185240/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/being-alyque-padamsee-indias-dream-merchant/70350-19.html. 25 January 2010.
  13. Web site: 'The Office' Actor Ranjit Chowdhry Dies at 64 . 2023-06-14 . TMZ . en.
  14. Web site: April 17 . Lauren Huff . EDT . 2020 at 08:54 PM . Ranjit Chowdhry, 'The Office' and 'Prison Break' actor, dies at 64 . 2023-06-14 . EW.com . en.