Jaaved Jaaferi says father Jagdeep was proud of India’s inclusivity: ‘Sadly I see it is going for a toss…’

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In 2020, Indian cinema lost a gem – legendary actor-comedian Jagdeep. The actor, who has been a part of 400 films, has touched our lives either with his on-screen work or his words. We know him as an incredible artiste, but in this conversation with his son Jaaved Jaaferi, we got an insight into the late actor’s personality, him as a father and the lessons he taught to his children.

In a conversation with indianexpress.com, Jaaved said his father Jagdeep didn’t have a childhood. He was the bread earner of his family from the age of 9.

“From the age of 9, he was just thrown into it. Jaise hota hai na samundar me phenk diya aur bola jao ab swim karo. It was literally like that. After Partition, everything was wiped out. He was on the streets. He was on a footpath of Mumbai with his mother. He had to start from scratch,” Jaaved said, adding, “He didn’t have childhood. He just had responsibility. He didn’t have time to play because he had to fend for himself and his mother. So obviously when he saw us as children, he tried to give us everything.”

He continued, “He was busy working a lot when we were growing up. We did spend some time. Like if we had holidays and he was shooting in some other city, we would accompany him as a part of the vacation because that was the only way we could spend time with him. That was the only holidays we had. Once the shoot would get over, we would hang around for a week or more to spend time together.”

As the conversation continued, Jaaved spoke about the love Jagdeep had for the country. He said the actor always hailed India for its inclusivity.

“I learned a lot from him. The people he worked with, the likes of Guru Dutt sahab, Bimal Roy sahab, V Shantaram sahab, Mehboob sahab and more, they are like encyclopaedias, and my father absorbed a lot from them and passed it on to us. The way they approached their work, life and their whole approach towards this amazing country and the inclusivity of this country, he grew up with it and passed it on to us. But sadly, I see it is going for a toss today, but we can only hope for better times,” Jaaved commented.

jagdeep with dilip kumar Jagdeep with Dilip Kumar. (Photo: Express Archive)

Jaaved said the Sholay actor taught him to “have hope.” He said that his father used to tell him that ‘Khuda ki rehmat se kabhi maayoos nahi hote.’ “He used to call it a crime. He taught us to be grateful for everything. He would teach us to approach work as worship. He would tell us to not be frivolous with work. ‘If you are on a set, do not sit and entertain people,’ he would say.”

Elaborating further, Jaaved said, “If journalists would come on the sets, he would not interact with them. He would tell them to meet him during his lunch break or after the shoot. He never diverted himself from his work. He was totally immersed in it. He would understand and observe the scene and think about how he can add more to it. I have also seen that with Dev Anand sahab, Nutan ji and few other actors I have met or worked with. They were on set and watching what is happening around them. Nutanji would sometimes read a book or something. They were present in the moment. Today, I miss that. I see a lot of people with mobile phones in their hands while the shot is going on. My father taught me differently. So, these are some lessons, which mean a lot to me, and I have tried to pass it on to my children.”

Jaaved himself has three kids – Meezaan Jafri, Alaviaa Jaffrey, Abbas Jaffrey. Meezaan has already marked his entry into Bollywood. When we asked him to elaborate on his bond with his son, Jaaved clarified that he is closer to his mother.

jaaved jaaferi Jaaved with son Meezaan. (Photo: Jaaved Jaaferi/Instagram)

“My father was much more formal yet friendly. Meezaan, he is more friendly with his mom. He discusses his life more with her. We share a formal and respectful bond with each other. But we definitely do not share a buddy bond. He would definitely not come up to me for relationship advice,” Jaaved laughed.

Jaaved Jaaferi is looking forward to release of Never Kiss Your Best Friend season 2. He will also feature in Disney + Hotstar’s social thriller, tittled Escaype Live.

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