Roshan Seth
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Roshan Seth (born 2 April 1942) is a British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director who has worked in the United Kingdom, United States and India. He began his acting career in the early 1960s in the UK, but left acting the following decade and moved to India to work as a journalist. In the 1980s, he rose to prominence for his comeback performance as
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
in
Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...
's
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-winning film ''
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
'', which brought him a
BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...
nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and reignited his interest in acting. He has since appeared in numerous British and American feature films and television programmes, with roles ranging from Chattar Lal in ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jone ...
'', Amit Rao in '' A Passage to India'', Papa Hussein in '' My Beautiful Laundrette'', patriarch Jay in '' Mississippi Masala'' and Dhalsim in '' Street Fighter: The Movie''. He won the Genie Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the Canadian film '' Such a Long Journey''. Other projects he has appeared include '' Bharat Ek Khoj'', '' Not Without My Daughter'', '' The Buddha of Suburbia'', '' Vertical Limit, Monsoon Wedding, Proof, Ek Tha Tiger, Indian Summers'' and '' Dumbo''.


Early life

Seth was born in
Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...
, Bihar on 2 April 1942 during the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
, to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother. His father was a biochemistry professor at Patna Medical College. He was educated at
The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a Selective school, selective all-boys Private school, private boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer ...
, then did graduate studies in history at St Stephen's College. There, he honed his theatrical skills at the
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
Society, before moving to England for further training. He trained at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...
in 1965 and started working in British television and repertory theatre.


Career

Seth first appeared in Peter Brook's production of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
'', which toured in 1972. Seth entered feature films in Richard Lester's '' Juggernaut'' (1974). However, subsequent filmmakers only wanted Seth for limited ethnic roles, so that his career stalled. Discouraged, Seth abandoned acting and returned to India in 1977, where he worked as a journalist and editor of the quarterly journal published by the India International Centre, Delhi. He took leave from this job after
Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...
asked Seth to play
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
in ''
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
'' (1982). Seth was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in the film. Seth subsequently also played Jawaharlal Nehru in '' Bharat Ek Khoj'', a 53-episode series on
Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...
in 1988. David Hare met Seth in Delhi in 1982, and asked him to play author Victor Mehta in Hare's biographical play ''A Map of the World''. Seth left his editing job and returned to acting. ''A Map of the World'' toured for several years in Australia, London, and New York. After the release of the multi-award-winning movie ''
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
'' (1982), Seth was much in demand, and when ''A Map of the Worlds Broadway run finished, his movie career took off. His work in 1984 included major roles in ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jone ...
'' and
David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...
's '' A Passage to India''. Following that he played a lead in '' My Beautiful Laundrette'' (1985), and he played Pancks in '' Little Dorrit'' (1988). Seth's film credits in the 1990s included roles in '' Not Without My Daughter'' (1991), '' Mississippi Masala'' (1991), '' Street Fighter'' (1994), and Harish Saluja's ''The Journey'' (1997). In 1993, he played the role of Haroon Amir in the television miniseries '' The Buddha of Suburbia'', for which he was nominated a
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
award for "Best Actor – Male". In 1995, he played the role of Baba in ''Flight'', for which he won the "Best Actor" award at the
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from  – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...
International Film Festival. In 1998, he played the leading role of Gustad Noble in the film '' Such a Long Journey'', for which he won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. In 2001, Seth appeared in '' Monsoon Wedding'' and he has continued working steadily in British and American films. In 2003 he played the lead in the American film '' Cosmopolitan'', which was broadcast nationally on PBS. He also recently returned to mainstream Indian cinema with his role in the 2012 film, '' Ek Tha Tiger''.


Personal life

Seth was married to author Pepita Seth, but they separated in the late 1980s and divorced in 2004. His brother is the retired Indian diplomat Aftab Seth.


Filmography


Film


Television


Selected theatre credits

* ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
'' * ''A Map of the World'' (Victor Mehta) * ''
King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...
'' (The Fool) * ''The Millionairess'' (The Doctor) * ''Amadeus'' (
Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian composer and teacher of the classical period (music), classical period. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subje ...
)


References


External links

*
Roshan Seth at Filmreference.comRoshan Seth interview
on NPR's ''
All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'', 3 June 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Seth, Roshan 1942 births Living people 20th-century British male actors 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century British male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners British male film actors British male stage actors British male television actors Delhi University alumni Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom Indian male film actors Indian male stage actors Indian male television actors Male actors from London Male actors from Patna Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Bihar St. Xavier's Patna alumni The Doon School alumni