Roshan Seth
{{Short description|British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director (born 1942)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2025}}
{{for|the Canadian-American film director|Roshan Sethi}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Roshan Seth
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|size=100%}}
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1942|04|2}}
| birth_place = Patna, Bihar, British India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = {{Hlist | Actor | writer | theatre director}}
| years_active = 1961–present
| awards =
| alma_mater = London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
| spouse = {{Marriage|Pepita Seth||2004|end=div}}
| relatives = Aftab Seth (brother)
}}
Roshan Seth {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.stantondavidson.co.uk/ViewProfileX.aspx?id=46|title=Stanton Davidson Associates|website=stantondavidson.co.uk|access-date=2020-01-09|archive-date=12 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812100450/http://www.stantondavidson.co.uk/ViewProfileX.aspx?id=46|url-status=live}} (born 2 April 1942) is a British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director who has worked in the United Kingdom, United States and India.[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1921753 Audio interview with Seth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231211846/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1921753|date=31 December 2017}} on NPR's All Things Considered, 3 June 2004 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 in Richard Attenborough's Academy Award-winning film Gandhi, which brought him a BAFTA Award 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, 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, Bihar on 2 April 1942 during the British Raj, to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} His father was a biochemistry professor at Patna Medical College.{{cite book|title=Conversations with actors on film, television, and stage performance|year=2002|publisher=Heinemann|isbn=0325003726|page=157|author=Carole Zucker|quote=He came to Patna as a professor of biochemistry at the Patna Medical College.}} He was educated at The Doon School, then did graduate studies in history at St Stephen's College. There, he honed his theatrical skills at the Shakespeare Society, before moving to England for further training.[https://books.google.com/books?id=7QpzAAAAMAAJ&q=roshan+seth+doon Requiem for a rainbow: a Fijian Indian story – Satendra Pratap Nandan – Google Books] He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1965 and started working in British television and repertory theatre.{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/529878/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Seth, Roshan (1942–) Biography|access-date=31 January 2009|archive-date=2 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202153750/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/529878/index.html|url-status=live}}{{cite book|author=Suman Bhuchar|editor-link=Alison Donnell|editor=Alison Donnell|title=Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfdpdZ9DwH0C&pg=PA276|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-70025-7|page=276|chapter=Seth, Roshan}}
Career
Seth first appeared in Peter Brook's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which toured in 1972.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}} 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 asked Seth to play Jawaharlal Nehru in Gandhi (1982). Seth was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in the film.{{cite web|title=Awards for Roshan Seth|publisher=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0786022/awards|access-date=24 January 2009|archive-date=3 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203210006/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0786022/awards|url-status=live}} Seth subsequently also played Jawaharlal Nehru in Bharat Ek Khoj, a 53-episode series on Doordarshan in 1988.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}}
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.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}} After the release of the multi-award-winning movie Gandhi (1982), Seth was much in demand, and when A Map of the World's Broadway run finished, his movie career took off. His work in 1984 included major roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and David Lean's A Passage to India. Following that he played a lead in My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), and he played Pancks in Little Dorrit (1988).{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}}
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 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 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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022|reason=IMDb is *not* a reliable source for this information (see WP:IMDB, WP:IMDB/RS and WP:IMDB-EL).}}
In 2001, Seth appeared in Monsoon Wedding and he has continued working steadily in British and American films.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}} 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.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}}
Personal life
Seth was married to author Pepita Seth, but they separated in the late 1980s and divorced in 2004.{{cite news|last=Manmadhan|first=Prema|title=A Malayali in spirit|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/12/06/stories/2008120653261500.htm|date=6 December 2008|access-date=3 December 2013|archive-date=19 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619232325/https://www.thehindu.com/archive/print/2008/12/06/|newspaper=The Hindu|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=De|first=Shobhaa|title=Stories around my dining table|url=http://www.mid-day.com/smd/2004/mar/78649.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131203215913/http://www.mid-day.com/smd/2004/mar/78649.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 December 2013|newspaper=Mid-Day|date=14 March 2004}} His brother is the retired Indian diplomat Aftab Seth.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7QpzAAAAMAAJ&q=roshan+seth+doon|title=Requiem for a rainbow: a Fijian Indian story – Satendra Pratap Nandan – Google Books|isbn=9780646415895|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-date=23 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223071626/https://books.google.com/books?id=7QpzAAAAMAAJ&q=roshan+seth+doon&dq=roshan+seth+doon&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UZXkUIKOEIep0AXtloDAAQ&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBg|url-status=live|last1=Nandan|first1=Satendra Pratap|year=2001|publisher=Pacific Indian Publications }}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of performances by Roshan Seth in film | |||
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Juggernaut | Azad | |
| 1982 | Gandhi | Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru | Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
| rowspan="2"| 1984 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Chattar Lal | |
| data-sort-value="Passage to India, The" | A Passage to India | Advocate Amrit Rao | ||
| 1985 | My Beautiful Laundrette | Papa Hussein | |
| 1987 | Partition | ||
| 1988 | Little Dorrit | Mr. Pancks | |
| 1989 | George Nyman | ||
| rowspan="2" | 1990 | Mountains of the Moon | Ben Amir | |
| 1871 | Lord Grafton
| | ||
| rowspan="3" | 1991 | Not Without My Daughter | Houssein | |
| Mississippi Masala | Jay | ||
| London Kills Me | Dr. Bubba | ||
| 1992 | Ranveer | ||
| 1994 | Street Fighter | Dr. Dhalsim | |
| rowspan="2" | 1995 | Bideshi | Ajoy | Short film |
| Solitaire for 2 | Sandip Tamar | ||
| 1997 | data-sort-value="Journey, The" | The Journey | Kishan Singh | |
| rowspan="2" | 1998 | Such a Long Journey | Gustad Noble | Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role |
| Bombay Boys | Pesi Shroff | ||
| 1999 | Don Benito | ||
| 2000 | Vertical Limit | Col. Amir Salim | |
| rowspan="3" | 2001 | Monsoon Wedding | Mohan Rai | |
| Wings of Hope | Shekar Khanna | ||
| South West 9 | Ravi | ||
| rowspan="2" |2004 | Omar | ||
| Se sarà luce sarà bellissimo | Aldo Moro | ||
| rowspan="2" | 2005 | Frozen | Noyen | |
| Proof | Professor Bhandari | ||
| 2006 | Kabul Express | Narrator (voice) | |
| rowspan="3" | 2007 | Broken Thread | Chief of Enquiry Commission
| | |
| Guru | Thapar | ||
| Amal | Suresh Gupta | ||
| 2010 | data-sort-value="Truth About Tigers, The" | The Truth About Tigers | Narrator | Short film |
| 2011 | Trishna | Mr. Singh | |
| 2012 | Ek Tha Tiger | Professor Kidwai
| | |
| rowspan="2" | 2013 | Brahmin Bulls | Ashok Sharma | |
| data-sort-value="Lovers, The" | The Lovers | Sadhu | ||
| 2016 | City of Tiny Lights | Farzad Akhtar | |
| 2018
|Rupesh | | |||
| 2019 | Dumbo | Pramesh Singh |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of performances and appearances by Roshan Seth in television | ||
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1964
|Dr. Ahmed | | ||
| 1966
|Soondra |Episode: "Tell Me About the Crab" | ||
| rowspan="2" |1967
|Kuldip Mahal |Episode: "The Game" | ||
| Theatre 625
|Vinay |Episode: "55 Columns" | ||
| 1968–69
| data-sort-value="Wednesday Play, The" | The Wednesday Play |Ben Scalfe / Student |2 episodes | ||
| 1969
|Jamal |Episode: "Report 3424: Epidemic – A Most Curious Crime" | ||
| 1971
| data-sort-value="Doctors, The" | The Doctors |Bingi Singh |Episode 1.88 | ||
| 1972
|To Encourage the Others |Jazwon |Television film | ||
| 1973
| data-sort-value="Protectors, The" | The Protectors |Persuer |Episode: "...With a Little Help From My Friends" | ||
| rowspan="2" |1975
|Mr. Wood |Episode: "Belonging" | ||
| General Hospital
|Dr. Narasjee |Episode: "The White Rajah" | ||
| rowspan="4" |1976
|Dr. Milma |Episode: "The Peddler" | ||
| Centre Play
|Anil Roy |Episode: "Commonwealth Season: India – Apply, Apply, No Reply" | ||
| Crown Court
|Farooq Rana |Episode: "A Matter of Honour: Part 1" | ||
| Gangsters
| |Episode: "Incident Four" | ||
| rowspan="2" |1987
| data-sort-value="Happy Valley, The" | The Happy Valley | Defense Solicitor | Television film |
| Emmerdale
|Howard |2 episodes | ||
| rowspan="3" |1988
|Dr. Antony Graham |Episode 1.2 | ||
| Deadline
|The Emir of Hawa |Television film | ||
| Bharat Ek Khoj
|Main cast; Series 1 | ||
| 1989
|In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones |Y.D. Billimoria / Yamdoot |Television film | ||
| rowspan="3" |1992
|Sujit Pratkash |Episode: "Rates of Exchange" | ||
| Screen One
|Mr. Humphrey |Episode: "Running Late" | ||
| Stalin
|Television film | ||
| 1993
| data-sort-value="Buddha of Suburbia, The" | The Buddha of Suburbia |Haroon Amir |{{br list | Television film | Nominated- Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor}} | ||
| 1994
|Siren Spirits |Ajoy |Miniseries; 2 episodes | ||
| rowspan="3" |1996
| data-sort-value="Bill, The" | The Bill |Ahmed Seth |Episode: "Blood Brothers" | ||
| Dangerfield
|Aslam Choudhury |Episode: "Treasure" | ||
| {{ill|Die Flughafenklinik|it}}
|Dr. Tenshin Sharafi |{{br list | Episode: "Fluchthilfe" | German TV series}} | ||
| rowspan="4" |1997
|Turning World |Dr. Khan |3 episodes | ||
| Flight
|Baba | Television film | ||
| Food for Ravens
|Nehru | Television film | ||
| Grandpa Chatterjee
|Grandpa Chatterjee | Television film | ||
| 1998
|Iqbal |Ulla Khasi | Television film | ||
| 1999
| data-sort-value="Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, The" | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles |Sheikh Khamal |Episode: "Tales of Innocence" | ||
| 2001
|Kushara Bandara |Episode: "Tip of the Iceberg" | ||
| rowspan="4" |2003
|Fazul Azzam |Episode: "Nest of Angels" | ||
| Second Generation
|Mohan |Television film | ||
| Silent Witness
|Afzal Khan |Episode: Answering Fire | ||
| Cosmopolitan
|Gopal |Television film | ||
| 2004
|Jameel Khan |Episode: "Fragile Relations" | ||
| 2005
| data-sort-value="Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, The" | The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag |Pundit |Television film | ||
| 2007
| data-sort-value="Last Days of the Raj, The" | The Last Days of the Raj | Television film | ||
| 2008
| data-sort-value="Cheetah Girls: One World, The" | The Cheetah Girls: One World |Uncle Kamal Bhatia | Television film | ||
| 2015–16
|Darius Dalal |Main cast; Series 1–2 | ||
| 2017
|Uncle Zaheer |Television film | ||
| 2019
|Emperor Shah Alam |Main cast; Series 1 | ||
| 2021
|Dr. Sharma | |
Selected theatre credits
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
- A Map of the World (Victor Mehta)
- King Lear (The Fool)
- The Millionairess (The Doctor)
- Amadeus (Antonio Salieri)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0786022|Roshan Seth}}
- [http://www.filmreference.com/film/53/Roshan-Seth.html Roshan Seth at Filmreference.com]
- [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/529878/index.html Roshan Seth at ScreenOnline]
- [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1921753 Roshan Seth interview] on NPR's All Things Considered, 3 June 2004
{{ACCT Best Actor}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seth, Roshan}}
Category:20th-century British male actors
Category:20th-century Indian male actors
Category:21st-century British male actors
Category:21st-century Indian male actors
Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Category:Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Category:British male film actors
Category:British male stage actors
Category:British male television actors
Category:Delhi University alumni
Category:Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Category:Indian male film actors
Category:Indian male stage actors
Category:Indian male television actors
Category:Male actors from London
Category:Male actors from Patna
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire