Alyque Padamsee | |
|---|---|
 Padamsee in 2012 | |
| Born | (1928-03-05)5 March 1928 |
| Died | 17 November 2018(2018-11-17) (aged 90) Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Occupations | Theatre personality, Ad-film maker |
| Spouse(s) | Pearl Padamsee (divorced) Dolly Thakore (divorced) Sharon Prabhakar (separated) |
| Children | 3, includingShazahn Padamsee |
| Relatives | Akbar Padamsee (cousin) Raisa Padamsee (niece) |
Alyque Padamsee (5 March 1928[1] – 17 November 2018)[2] was an Indian theatre personality and ad film maker. He playedMuhammad Ali Jinnah in the 1982 British period filmGandhi. He was conferred withPadma Shri in 2000.
Besides being involved in Indian theatre as an actor and producer, Padamsee was an advertising professional who once headed the advertising companyLintas Bombay.[3][4][5]
Padamsee was born inBombay in 1928 into a traditionalIsmailiKhoja Muslim family hailing from theKutch region ofGujarat.[6] The ancestors of the Padamsee family originally belonged to theCharan community of Kutch who later converted toIslam.[7] The family had been settled in the nearbyKathiawar region for some generations; Padamsee's grandfather, who had been thesarpanch (headman) of Vāghnagar, a village inBhavnagar district, was famous for having distributed his entire granary to the village during a famine.[6][8]
Padamsee's father, Jafferseth Padamsee, was an affluent businessman who owned 10 buildings and also ran a glassware and furniture business. His mother, Kulsumbai Padamsee, was a home-maker. She was Jaffer Padamsee's second wife; they had eight children. Her eldest son was Sultan Padamsee, also known as Bobby, a theatre actor who was reputedly gay and died by suicide at the age of twenty-three. Alyque was born after three girls; one of his older sisters, Zarina, was the wife of Hamid Sayani, brother ofAmeen Sayani. Another of his sisters was Roshan Alkazi, wife ofEbrahim Alkazi. One of Padamsee's (distant) cousins is the painterAkbar Padamsee, son of Hasanali Padamsee. Although rich, this trading family was not well-educated, and neither of his parents had finished school. Alyque and his brothers (but not his sisters) were the first in the family to attend school and learn English there; the parents later picked up a smattering of the language from their sons.[9] Raised in an extremely traditional environment, in a devout Muslim family, Padamsee described himself as anagnostic who disclaimed all religion by the age of 18. He was educated atSt. Xavier's College, Mumbai.[10][11]
Padamsee's first wife wasPearl Padamsee, a Christian born to aBaghdadi Jewish mother and a Christian father. Pearl had been previously married; her first husband had been a Hindu, and she had two children by that marriage, a daughter named Rohini (1951–1961) and a son,Ranjit Chowdhry (1955–2020). Rohini Chowdhry died at age 10, very shortly after Pearl and Padamsee got married. Ranjit became an actor and died in 2020. Padamsee and Pearl had one daughter together, Raell Padamsee, who runs the acting school founded by her mother.[12] Padamsee and Pearl were divorced not long after the birth of Raeel, but Pearl chose to retain her married name 'Padamsee' for the rest of her life.[13]
After his first divorce, Padamsee had an extended relationship withDolly Thakore, another Christian. She had also been previously married to a Hindu, Dilip Thakore, and divorced him to cohabit with Padamsee. For all intents and purposes, Padamsee and Dolly were assumed to be husband and wife by the world. They had a son together,Quasar Thakore-Padamsee, also a theatre professional.
After separating from Dolly, Padamsee marriedSharon Prabhakar, another Christian who was twenty-seven years younger than him. Born to a Hindu father and a Christian mother, Sharon had previously been married to Bryan Mascarenhas. Padamsee and Sharon had a daughter together,Shazahn Padamsee. Like all her father's other children and step-children, Shazahn is an actress.
For 14 years, Padamsee was the Chief Executive who built Lintas India to be one of the top agencies in the country. He went on to become the Regional Co-ordinator of Lintas South Asia. Known as the 'Father of Modern Indian Advertising',[14] Padamsee has built over 100 brands. He was the only Indian to be voted into the International Clio Hall of Fame, the Oscars of World Advertising. He was Chairman of the London Institute of Corporate Training at which he conducted courses onleadership training and ideation. His best seller book on Advertising entitledA Double Life is prescribed in business schools.[citation needed]
Padamsee created Lalitaji for Surf, Cherry Charlie for Cherry Blossom Shoe Polish, the MRF Muscle Man, the Liril girl in the waterfall, the Kamasutra couple, Hamara Bajaj, the TV detective Karamchand, the Fair & Handsome brand, etc. Recently he created the Idea of a Fatwa against Terrorism which was announced by the Grand Mufti of the Deoband Uloom. For the Golden Jubilee of The Indian Institute Technology Bombay his idea of starting an initiative to create 10 Great Ideas That Will Change The World In The Next 50 Years caused a great deal of excitement. He was also working onAIDS Prevention Idea with the Dept. of Biotechnology.
He was the CEO of AP Advertising Pvt. Ltd., a firm of Image and Communications Consultants, who have provided consultancy services to a number of national and multinational companies, as Creative Advisor.[citation needed]
Padamsee is also known for his English language theatre productions in India likeEvita,Jesus Christ Superstar,Tuglaq, and his latest,Broken Images, which was invited to theKennedy Center inWashington, DC in 2011.[15] He was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre by the Sangeet Natak Akademi; and this January[when?] the Tagore Ratna. Internationally, he is known for his portrayal ofMuhammad Ali Jinnah in SirRichard Attenborough'sGandhi.
He worked for the Citizens for Justice & Peace, the Citizens Action Group, and he was on the Advisory Council of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay). Earlier he worked as Communications Advisor toChandrababu Naidu, the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh State. Recently[when?] he was appointed to the Prime Minister's AIDS Task Force (Earlier served as Advisor to Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi on Commercial Television).
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Gandhi | Muhammad Ali Jinnah |
A Double Life: My Exciting Years In Theatres and Advertising (autobiography)
I was born into riches: Ours was a Kutchi business family. My father, Jafferseth, owned 10 buildings and also ran a glassware and furniture business. My mother, Kulsumbai Padamsee, was a housewife. Anything I wanted was there for the asking. We were eight children in all but I, being born after three daughters, was pampered most. Among Gujarati families, it was only the Padamsees and the royal house ofRajpipla. At school, I learnt to speak in English. Later, our parents learnt the language from us. All that I am today is because of what I learnt at school. Miss Murphy, who ran the school, was an inspirational figure for me.
For many in the advertising industry, Alyque Padamsee was God. Known as the Father of Modern Indian Advertising, he inspired a generation of advertising professionals and passed on his genius to many others.
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