Asif Basra (27 July 1967 – 12 November 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Bollywood films and TV serials. He is best known to Western audiences for his role in Outsourced.[1] He also appeared in many other films. Basra died of suicide by hanging in 2020. Reports suggested it could be murder but the case was closed as no evidence was found.[2]
Asif Basra | |
|---|---|
 Basra in 2016 | |
| Born | 27 July 1967 Amravati, Maharashtra, India |
| Died | 12 November 2020 (aged 53) Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Alma mater | Bombay University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1998–2020 |
Early life and education
editBasra was born on 27 July 1967 in Amravati, Maharashtra, India.[3][4] In 1989, he moved to Mumbai and attended Mumbai University, and acted in college productions. He regularly won prizes for the characters he played in college time. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree of Physics.[5]
Acting career
editBasra performed in Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday and Rahul Dholakia's Parzania, which received much critical appreciation. He appeared in Michael O. Sajbeland's One Night with the King with veteran actors like Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole.[6] He played a tailor in the Hindi movie Lamhaa; he was in Bollywood's 2010 top-grossing film Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai as Shoaib's (Emraan Hashmi) father.[7] Basra was also known for his theatrical performances from playing five characters in Feroz Abbas Khan's production of Mahatma v/s Gandhi. Other performances include a child with spina bifida in Main Bhi Superman and Horatio in Hamlet.[8][9]
In 2020, Basra appeared in two web series: Paatal Lok streamed on Amazon Prime and Hostages on Hotstar.[10][11] He worked in Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, and Malayalam films. He was last seen in the second season of the Amazon Prime Video web series The Family Man which released on 4 June in 2021.[12][13][14]
Death
editBasra was found hanging in a private complex in McLeod Ganj, in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh on 12 November 2020. The investigation was inconclusive and the case was closed .[15][16][17]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Film/television | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Woh | History Teacher Omkarnath Dikshit | Hindi film debut | |
| 2003 | Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula | Aakash | ||
| Quicksand | Airman | |||
| 2004 | Black Friday | Shanawaz Qureshi | ||
| Love in Nepal | Ram Nath Mohan | |||
| 2005 | Parzania | Premiered at 36th India International Film Festival, Goa | ||
| 2006 | Outsourced | Puro N. Virajnarianan | ||
| One Night with the King | Cameo | |||
| Mixed Doubles | Doctor | |||
| 2007 | Jab We Met | Station Vendor 1 | ||
| 2008 | Tandoori Love | T.V. Kumar | ||
| 2009 | Chal Chala Chal | Harilal | ||
| 2010 | Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai | Shoaib's dad | [18] | |
| Lamhaa | Driver | |||
| Knock Out | Police Inspector | |||
| Kushti | Post Master | |||
| 2013 | Kai Po Che | Ali's father | [18] | |
| The Attacks of 26/11 | Taxi Driver | |||
| Krrish 3 | Dr. Alok Sen | |||
| 2014 | Ek Villain | Aadesh Varma | ||
| Manjunath | Devendra | |||
| Anjaan | Rajiv | Tamil film | ||
| 2016 | Wrong Side Raju | Amitabh Shah | Gujarati film | |
| Freaky Ali | Kishan Lal | |||
| 2017 | Saanjh | Sanju's Father | Himachali film | [19] |
| Sheitaan | ||||
| Islamic Exorcist | Exorcist | |||
| 2018 | Kaalakaandi | Raza Arif | ||
| Hichki | Shyamlal, peon | |||
| Fanney Khan | Vivek Sir, Producer | |||
| 2019 | The Tashkent Files | Media Company, Boss | [18] | |
| Satellite Shankar | Cab Driver | |||
| P Se Pyaar F Se Faraar | Sompal Singh | |||
| 2020 | Big Brother | Muthan | Malayalam film | |
| 2021 | Sooryavanshi | Rafique | Posthumous release |
Web series
edit| Year | Film/Television | Role | Network | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Rangbaaz | SI Bhangwan Mishra | Zee5 | ||
| 2020 | Paatal Lok | Jai Malik | Amazon Prime Video | [10] | |
| Hostages | Asghar Nabi | Disney+ Hotstar | [11] | ||
| 2021 | The Family Man (Season 2) | Counsellor | Amazon Prime Video | Posthumously released | Released on 3 June 2021 |
References
edit- ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (28 September 2007). "Outsourced - Movies - Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Actor Asif Basra dies by suicide at 53". The Indian Express. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ Radhakrishnan, Manjusha (12 November 2020). "Remembering Asif Basra: A life in pictures". Gulf News. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (12 November 2020). "Indian Actor Asif Basra Dies at 53". Variety. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Asif Basra Biography, Family, Wife, Death Reason, Son, Daughter -". 12 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ Profile Archived 2 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "In a first, Bollywood actor Asif Basra to star in Pahari movie". Hindustan Times. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Asif Basra death & cause of death - Bollywood actor Asif Basra committed suicide, What killed him, Biography and reason of death". 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ "Outsourced the Movie". Outsourced the Movie. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Asif Basra (1967-2020): Celebrities pay tribute to Paatal Lok actor". 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ a b Ramachandran, Naman (12 November 2020). "Indian Actor Asif Basra Dies at 53". Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ Entertainment Desk (21 May 2021). "Raj and DK remember Asif Basra, share his photo from Family Man Season 2 trailer: 'Losing him to suicide has left us heartbroken'". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "The Family Man's Raj and DK on Asif Basra: 'He was brilliant, losing him to suicide has left us heartbroken'". hindustantimes.com. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ Jyoti Kanyal (21 May 2021). "The Family Man 2 directors Raj & DK remember Asif Basra, share his still from trailer". indiatoday.in. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Actor Asif Basra was found dead in Himachal p Pradesh - India, suicide suspected". Hindustan Times. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ "Bollywood actor Asif Basra dies by suicide at a private complex in Dharamshala, he was 53". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ "Asif Basra (1967-2020): Celebrities pay tribute to Paatal Lok actor". The Indian Express. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ a b c "Remembering Asif Basra with Some of His Most Memorable Roles in TV and Films". News18. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Asif Basra Movies: Latest and Upcoming Films of Asif Basra | eTimes". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 May 2021.