Veteran Bollywood comedian Jagdeep is no more. He passed away on Wednesday owing to age-related health problems at the age of 81.

Popularly known as Soorma Bhopali in Sholay, Jagdeep will be laid to rest at a cemetery in south Mumbai around 11.30 am on Thursday.

The actor’s demise left the Bollywood and Twitterati mourning.

Abhishek Bachchan tweeted, “May you rest in peace Jagdeep sahab. Thank you for filling our lives with smiles.”

Ayushmann Khurrana wrote, “RIP #Jagdeep sir! Your contribution to the industry will always be remembered. Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for the memories.”

Anil Kapoor also expressed his grief. He wrote, “Jagdeep Saab was one of the greatest actors of India…I was his huge fan & was lucky enough to have worked with him in Ek Baar Kaho & many more films…he was always extremely supportive & encouraging…sending my heartfelt condolences & prayers to my friend Javed & family…”
Arshad Warsi said Jagdeep was the inspiration behind his role in Ishqiya. “Really sad to hear about Jagdeep sahab. What a phenomenal actor & a wonderful person. He has entertained my generation all through our growing years. He was also my reference point for Ishqiya. Thank you Jagdeep sahab… Allah aapko Jannat Naseeb farmaye -RIP,” he wrote in a tweet.

His fans on twitter also expressed their sadness as messages like “Bollywood has lost many talented artists this year in their history of Indian cinema era. #RestInPeace Soorma bhopali aka Jagdeep Saheb!” and “Another great soul we lost this year , this year has really hurt us so badly. Now we lost our jagdeep sir who made our childhood filled with laugh by his awesome acting . #RestInPeace #JagdeepSahab”, among others started floating in.

Born on March 29, 1939 as Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri in Amritsar, Jagdeep acted in over 400 films. agdeep started his career as a child artiste in BR Chopra’s 1951 release, ‘Afsana,’ starring Ashok Kumar, Veena and Pran. As a child artiste he also worked in the Raj Kapoor-produced “Ab Dilli Door Nahin”, KA Abbas’s “Munna”, Guru Dutt’s “Aar Paar”, Bimal Roy’s “Do Bigha Zamin” and the AVM-produced “Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke”.