Virendra Razdan (6 March 1951 – 13 June 2003) was an Indian actor. He is best known to international audiences for his portrayal of
Maulana Azad, a leading figure of the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
, in the 1982
biographical film
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...
''
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 ...
'' directed by
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 ...
.
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Early life
Virendra Razdan was born on 6 March 1951 to a middle class Brahmin family at Srinagar
Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...
, Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. His father Govind Razdan was a Sufi Musician. He aspired to become an actor and worked with few theatre groups in his teen age. He also served as Radio Jockey at Radio Kashmir during early 70’s. It was during 1972 at a mere age of 21 Years, he applied and was selected for a 3 Year Degree course into Acting and Theatre under the guidance of Dr. Ibrahim Alkazi at National School of Drama (NSD) & one year Diploma (Post Grad) course from FTII, Pune.
Acting career
After graduating he was offered a role as a lecturer at NSD. It was during 1979-80 that Sir Richard Attenborough visited India in search of talented indian actors for his upcoming movie Gandhi. Attenborough visited NSD as it was the biggest premier Institute for acting and discovered Mr. Razdan along with a pool of talented theatre artists for his film.
Mr. Razdan was chosen for a role of Maulana Azad and that’s how his journey as an actor began. Gandhi was a big success and won 8 Academy Awards from 11 Nominations. His next project was B.R Chopra’s Mahabharat where he played Vidur which again was the biggest success story in indian Television History.
Death
Razdan died in Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
on 13 June 2003, due to stomach cancer at the age of 52.
Filmography
Films
Television
References
External links
*
1951 births
2003 deaths
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Indian male film actors
Indian male television actors
National School of Drama alumni
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