Teary eyed Bollywood bids final adieu to Farooq Sheikh - the eternal gentleman

The atmosphere was somber at a burial ground in Andheri where actor Farooq Sheikh was laid to rest yesterday. Friends and well wishers from Bollywood trooped in huge numbers to bid adieu to the man who lived a spotless and controversy free life in the film industry. The late actor’s body was kept at his apartment at Highland Park for all to pay their last respects. Bollywood was represented by Deepti Naval, Sarika, Rahul Bose, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Alok Nath, Sonali Bendre, Alka Yagnik, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Kalpana Lajmi, Satish Shah, Jackky Bhagnani, Shekhar Suman, Swara Bhaskar and many others. Many couldn’t control their tears. Jackky Bhagnani sobbed like a child. Even Sonali Bendre couldn’t hide her tears. “I was shell shocked when I heard the news. I cannot eat biryani without him. Whenever, I will eat biryani, I will always remember him. He was so gentle and humble,” said Sonali with a lump in her throat. Farooq’s long time friend and co-actor Shabana Azmi found it difficult to express her profound grief at having lost a dear friend. "My last interaction with Farooq happened when we did our play on 14 December. I said it's been 21 years now and we should stop this play to which Farooq said, 'Why are you saying this? In fact, we will continue this play for the next 21 years.' Now there will be no show without Farooq,” said Shabana. Surprisingly, no Bollywood biggie was seen at the funeral. Farooq was seen this year in Listen Amaya, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Club 60, which was his last released film. Next year, he will be seen in Jackky Bhagnani's upcoming film Youngistan. The actor had also won a National Film Award as the best supporting actor for his role in 2010 movie Lahore. Without doubt, Bollywood has lost one of its most precious gems.