He attended University of Allahabad where he completed his post-graduate degree in history. In 1938, Jaffrey joined Minto Circle School at Aligarh Muslim University where he developed his talent for mimicry. At this time, he met Ismail Merchant who had recently arrived from Bombay to attend the New York University Stern School of Business. In summer 1964, Jaffrey along with some actor friends, created a multi-racial touring company called Theater In The Street, giving free performances of Molière's The Doctor Despite Himself in Harlem, Brooklyn and Bedford–Stuyvesant. [37] He played the lead in three of the plays put on by St. Michael’s Playhouse: Sakini, the Okinawan interpreter in The Teahouse of the August Moon; barrister Sir Wilfred Robarts in Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution; and Voice of God, with Gino, in The Little World of Don Camillo. He also attended the Staff Training Institute of All India Radio. She refused but gave him a tour of RADA where she pointed out a young Peter O'Toole and other English stage actors who would later achieve prominence. [21] At the local cinemas in Aligarh, he saw many Bollywood movies and became a fan of Motilal, Prithviraj Kapoor, Noor Mohammed Charlie, Fearless Nadia, Kanan Bala and Durga Khote.

He had three siblings, sister Shagufta and brothers Hameed and Waheed. [35] In summer 1956, Jaffrey resigned from his position as Radio Director at All India Radio. He also appeared as Ravi Desai on Coronation Street and in Minder as Mr Mukerjee in Series 1 episode The Bengal Tiger.[56]. In 1965 Jaffrey was offered the role of the Hindu God Brahma in Kindly Monkeys at the Arts Theatre, London. From 1958 to 1964, Saeed Jaffrey was married to Madhur Jaffrey.

He became Britain's highest-profile Asian actor during the 1980s and 1990s after playing leading roles in the drama series ‘Tandoori Nights,’ ‘Little Napoleons,’ and ‘The Jewel in the Crown.’ Jaffrey broke into India’s major film industry, Bollywood, with the movie ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’ and earned a Filmfare award for his performance. Starring Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor, the movie was the highest grossing Hindi movie of that year. Saeed Jaffrey was born in Maler Kotla, Punjab, India. [47] Saeed also took up acting on stage. He started his radio career as an English Announcer with the External Services of All India Radio on 2 April 1951 for a salary of ₹250 / month.

[52] Jaffrey played the small part of barrister Hamidullah in the BBC Television adaptation of A Passage to India.

degree in 1948 and M.A. Jaffrey had three daughters from his 1958-1964 marriage to Madhur Jaffrey: Zia, Meera and Sakina.


[54] In summer that year he played a role in The Coffee Lover, a comedy starring Alexis Smith that toured Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine. In 1994, Jaffrey starred in the serial ‘Little Napoleons’ alongside Norman Beaton, Lesley Manville and Simon Callow. [22], In 1945, Jaffrey gained admission to Allahabad University where he completed his B.A. In the 1980s Jaffrey won substantial roles on British television in colonial dramas The Jewel in the Crown and The Far Pavilions plus the British Indian sitcom Tandoori Nights, Little Napoleons (1994) and the ITV soap Coronation Street.

[30] Unity Theatre subsequently staged J. A few days later, Jaffrey boarded the RMS Queen Elizabeth to sail across the Atlantic Ocean from Southampton to New York City.[36]. While visiting his father in Gorakhpur in the winter of 1945, Saeed discovered the BBC World Service on the shortwave radio. He successfully auditioned as an announcer at All India Radio.

Saeed Jaffrey married to Madhur Bahadur on 1958 but later they divorced in 1966. later Saeed Jaffrey. [14] The divorce was finalized in 1966.
[16], In 1980 Jaffrey married Jennifer Sorrell, an agent and freelance casting director. Javed also has two half-sisters named Suraiya Jaffrey and Shakira Shafi. Spouse/Ex-: Jennifer Jaffrey, Madhur Jaffrey (m. 1958–1965), siblings: Hamid Jaffery, Shagufta Parveen Jaffrey, children: Meera Jaffrey, Sakina Jaffrey, Zia Jaffrey, See the events in life of Saeed Jaffrey in Chronological Order.