Tom Alter Passes Away: Bollywood Remembers the Veteran Actor

Tributes from stars poured in following the demise of Tom Alter, who died on Friday at his Mumbai residence at the age of 67. Rishi Kapoor, Mahesh Bhatt, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Kapoor and more, expressed their grief over the veteran artist’s death.

Alter was not keeping well for the past few months and eventually lost the battle to cancer. He was diagnosed with stage-four skin cancer earlier this month.

Rishi Kapoor, who worked with Alter in films, such as Hum Kisise Kum Naheen and Janam Janam, remembered the late actor on social media by sharing his picture. “RIP. My friend and colleague Tom Alter. Bless you! Rishi Kapoor,” he wrote.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt tweeted: “Goodbye to you my trusted friend!”

Riteish Deshmukh said he will always remember Alter “for his humility and kindness”. The two shared screen space in 2015 comedy satire Bangistan, where Alter played an Imam.

Huma Qureshi, who said she had honour of knowing him while doing a play in Delhi, tweeted, “So sad to hear about Tom Alter sir... such a lovely human being. Rest in Peace.”

Arjun Kapoor posted, “RIP Tom Alter... have the fondest childhood memories of seeing him on Zabaan Sambhal Ke...”

Nimrat Kaur called Alter “one of a kind, grace personified, thorough gentleman”.

Indian actor of American descent, Alter was the son of American missionary parents. He was born in 1950 in Mussoorie. He studied at Woodstock School in Mussoorie and later at Pune's Film and Television Institute.

The actor appeared in over 300 films which included Satyajit Ray's acclaimed movie Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Junoon. His first Hindi film to be released was Ramanand Sagar's Charas in 1976. His acting credits also include Aashiqui, Parinda, Sardar Patel and Gandhi.

In television, Alter's work ranged from Bharat Ek Khoj to Shaktimaan.