The last rites of actor Farooq Sheikh were performed on December 30, 2103 at around 09:00 pm at night at a burial ground at Four Bungalows, Andheri. He will be laid to rest near the grave of his mother Farida, who passed away in February 2011.
His wife and two daughters accompanied his remains from Dubai. Almost the entire industry was there to pay their last respect to Farooq, who some knew as a friend, some as an actor, some as a confidant and some as a guiding light.
An emotional Shabana Azmi said, “The last show of Tumhari Amrita was held against the backdrop of the resplendent Taj Mahal in Agra on December 14, 2013 to a standing ovation. This is a fitting finale. I told him that we have been doing the play for twenty one years, I think the curtains should drop on the play and he immediately replied saying, that we are good to carry on for another twenty one years. Thirteen days later, I get a call at 03:00 am from his wife Rupa that Farooq had passed away in Dubai due to a massive heart attack. To speak about Farooq in the past tense seems like a grammatical error, an aberration of language. He was my friend, my colleague, my well wisher.”
“I will never meet a person like him. His friendship matters a lot to me. I was lucky to have worked with him and know him personally,” said a tear eyes Deepti Naval.
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Writer Javed Siddiqi recalled, “Farooq lived in Nagpada while I stayed in Byculla. Our fathers were friends so I knew him long before he became an actor. Don’t know what to say. It’s a deep loss.”
Sonali Bendre broke down in front of the media and said, “I was 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 so humble.”
Farooq Sir, thank you for being like a father to me and teaching me so much through this film. Your teachings will always stay with me,” this was what Jackky Bhagnani has to say who just rapped up shooing with Farooq for his latest film Youngistan, ironically Farooq’s last.
Other celebrities who were present to bid him a final farewell were Javed Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Ila Arun, Rahul Bose, Shekhar Suman, Divya Dutta, Raza Murad, Anupam Kher, Johnny Lever, Kabir Bedi, Alka Yagnik, Dolly Thakore, Farhan Akhtar, Adhuna Akhtar, Divya Dutta, Rakesh Bedi, Shekhar Suman, Anant Mahadevan, Dolly Bindra, and Tabu.
