Ranjit Chowdhry (19 September 1955 – 15 April 2020)[ Slowly, With Love Rafta Rafta, Theatre Review, 3 May 2008.] 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[ Bollywood Hollywood gets 5 Genie nominations Times of India, 3 January 2003,][ Article describing a movie with Ranjit nominated for an award 3 January 2003.] His other most noted role was in Last Holiday (2006), starring Queen Latifah.[ Interview with Ranjit Chowdhry including a photograph Rediff.com, 13 January 2006.]
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
Christians during her life. He made his film debut in
Basu Chatterjee's
Khatta Meetha, following which he played prominent parts in
Bollywood 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.
He was a guest star in , and had appeared in two seasons of The Office and Prison Break.
Sanjay Gupta, who worked with Chowdhry on the film Kaante, tweeted that his performances were a joy and "KHATTA MEETHA is my favourite."
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.
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.
Filmography
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Episodes: "Money"
"Dream Team" |
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External links
