Farooq Shaikh Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Farooq Shaikh (1948-2013) was an Indian actor, humanitarian, and television presenter. He is famous for his work in Hindi films like Garam Hawa (1973), Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), Noorie (1979), Chashme Buddoor (1981), and other notable contributions to the Hindi television industry like hosting Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai. He took his last breath on 28 December 2013 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Wiki/Biography

Farooq Shaikh was born on Thursday, 25 March 1948 (age 65 years; at the time of death) in Amroli, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. His zodiac sign is Aries. He completed his schooling at St. Mary’s School in Bombay (now Mumbai) and graduated from St. Xavier’s College. Farooq went on to pursue law, following after his father in the profession, from Siddharth College of Law. While in college, he took part in plays and developed an interest in acting, which had him leave his legal career and choose theatre instead.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Farooq belongs to a family of well-off landowners in Nagpada, Bombay.

Parents & Siblings

Farooq Shaikh was born to Farida and Mustafa Shaikh. His lawyer father worked in Bombay and belonged to a family from Hansot in the Bharuch district of Gujarat. He had five siblings, and he was the eldest one.

Wife & Children

He met Roopa Jain at St. Xavier’s College. The couple were involved actively in theatre and later got married. They have three daughters, Rubina, Shaista, and Sanaa. Their younger daughter, Sanaa is involved with a NGO, United Way of Mumbai.

Relationships/Affairs

At St. Xavier’s College, Farooq was involved with Roopa, whom he married after nine years of courtship.

Religion/Religious Views

He practised Islam and believed himself to be a liberal Muslim.

Career

Films

Farooq made his acting debut in his final year of law school with M S Sathyu’s 1973 film Garam Hawa.

His active years in theatre made him well-known with directors like Sagar Sarhadi, who later went on to direct him in films like Noorie (1979), Bazaar (1982), and Faasle (1985). Farooq also worked in popular films like Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan (1981) and Gaman (1978), Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), Sai Paranjape’s Chasme Buddor (1981) and Katha (1982) and J K Bihari’s Biwi Ho Toh Aisi (1988).

He worked in films like Saas, Bahu aur Sensex (2008), Lahore (2010), Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani (2013), Club 60 (2013), and Youngistaan (2014). His film Youngistaan was released after his death.

Theatre, Radio & Television 

In his early days, Farooq was active in theatre, performing plays with IPTA and well-known directors. He starred in the play Tumhari Amrita (1992) with Shabana Azmi, which ran for 21 years across countries worldwide.

He garnered immense recognition for his stint as an anchor on Bombay Doordarshan shows such as Yuvadarshan and Young World. He worked as a presenter in the Hindi television industry and hosted the famous show Jeena Issi Ka Naam Hai (2002). He also did radio programs alongside famous radio personalities such as Ameen Sayani.

Social Activism

Apart from acting, Farooq was actively involved in social activism and believed in helping the underprivileged people in the community. After the 2002 Gujrat riots, he contributed to the re-establishment of riot victims from his hometown. He also sponsored the education of two sons of a maintenance worker from the Taj Hotel, who was shot dead during the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008 after reading about the case in The Indian Express. ^[1]ThePrint

Awards

• He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Lahore in 2010.

• He was honored by Bimal Roy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 for his contribution and dedication to cinema, theatre, and television.

Death

Farooq Shaikh died of cardiac arrest in the early hours on 28 December 2013, in Dubai where he was vacationing with his family. ^[2]Hindustan Times

Facts/Trivia

• His name is also spelt as Farooque Shaikh or Farooq Sheikh.

• He was fondly called ‘Dada’ by people from his native town due to his philanthropic work and helping nature.

• Farooq received Rs 750 for his first film Garam Hawa by director Ramesh Sathyu, spread over a 20-year time period.

• He had a passion for Horse riding. Farooq used to attend horse races organized in Naswadi. ^[3]The Times of India

• He had a massive fondness for honey. ^[4]The Times Of India

• Farooq was passionate about cricket and played through his school and college years. In an interview he said,

Vinoo Mankad conducted coaching classes for the two best students of our school- I invariably got selected each time. Cricket was my craze right through school and college at St. Xavier’s. In college, I was friendly with Sunil Gavaskar. He was a marvelous player.”

• On 25 March 2018, Google celebrated Farooq Shaikh with a doodle on his 70th birth anniversary. Google commented:

Farouque Shaikh essayed agonizing heartbreak and light-hearted comedy with equal ease. Beyond the silver screen, Shaikh was integral to Indian theater, and his epistolary play, ‘Tumhari Amrita’ with Shabana Azmi delighted audiences for over two decades.”

Today marks the 75th birthday of Indian acting legend Farooq Shaikh .

To mark his 70th birthday, Google had put out this Doodle by artist @NimitMalavia. It is made in the 70s Bollywood poster style, and shows Shaikh's transition from movies to TV.#FarooqShaikh #thread (1/4) pic.twitter.com/1CgXMquF47

— ThisDay (@ThisDayStories) March 25, 2023