On 29 th September 1997, the Padma Shri winner succumbed to skin cancer and breathed his last. Tom Alter also had an exceptional list of theatre performances, his first one being Samuel Beckett’s play ‘Waiting for Godot’ followed by several popular ones like ‘Ghalib in Delhi’, where he essayed Mirza Ghalib’s role and in the solo play ‘Maulana’, based on Maulana Azad, for which he received critical acclaim. On the small screen, Alter’s most famed role was in the popular 1990s series, ‘Junoon’, where he essayed the role of mob boss Don Keshav Kalsi, a role which Alter describes as his best in front of the camera.
Some of Tom Alter’s acclaimed movie roles were in Ketan Mehta’s film ‘Sardar’, a 1993 film wherein he played Lord Mountbatten in Satyajit Ray’s “Shatranj Ke Khiladi” as Captain Weston and in the Oscar-winning “Gandhi” (1982), in which Alter played the British doctor who whispers to Gandhi that his wife has died. The audience had begun to appreciate Alter’s dedication and hard work towards films and his cinematic brilliance garnered him remarkable roles. He treasured each role and executed it with finesse, establishing himself with each role he played. He became a favorite for roles of British colonials, diplomats, and priests. He seized the first opportunity that came his way by enrolling into Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and graduated in 1974.Īlter’s journey in the movies began with the Dev-Anand starrer ‘Sahib Bahadur’and his first release was Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Charas.’ His conventional western features weren’t in tune with other Indian actors, yet Tom Alter’s love for Shayari and his flair for Urdu and Hindi language made him cherishable among the masses, earning him the ‘blue-eyed actor’ title.Īlter worked with prominent figures such as Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Manmohan Desai, and Raj Kapoor. Enamored by films, it was after watching ‘Aradhana’ that Tom decided he wanted to become an actor. Born in Mussoorie on 22 nd June 1950, Tom Alter worked as a teacher in Haryana where he spent most of his evenings at the cinema with friends, watching and nurturing his love for Hindi movies. Renowned for his character acting in Bollywood films, Thomas Beach Alter was an Indian-born actor of American descent.