MUMBAI: Veteran character actress for nearly six decades, Shammi Rabadi passed away at her home here late on Monday, a family friend said. She was 87.
According to Bollywood personality Ashok Shekhar, she had been ailing since some time. She breathed her last at her Juhu Circle home.
Her funeral shall be performed at the Oshiwara cemetery later in the day, Shekhar told IANS.
Her co-star in 1992’s ‘Khuda Gawah’, Amitabh Bachchan praised her for her contribution to the Indian film industry.
In his tweet, Bachchan also revealed how her age and illness has caught up with her in her last few years.
The 75-year-old actor tweeted, “T 2735 - 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 ..”
Ex-member of Parliament and sister to Sanjay Dutt, Priya Dutt posted a throwback picture of ‘Shammi aunty’ along with her mother Nargis.
She 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”.
Shammi, whose real name was Nargis, was a Parsi and the former wife of legendary Bollywood filmmaker, the late Sultan Ahmed.
She became a popular character artist portraying supporting roles of aunt, granny, elder spinster in the family, et al, besides acting for television serials.
The actress was known to play pivotal roles in popular TV shows such as ‘Zabaan Sambhal Ke’, ‘Kabhi Yeh Kabhi Woh’, ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’, and ‘Filmy Chakkar’, alongside Indian cinema.
She was last seen in Farah-Khan-Boman Irani’s outing, ‘Shirini Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi’ in 2013.