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Ranjit Chowdhry
Born 19 September 1955
Mumbai, India
Died 15 April 2020 (aged 64)
Mumbai, India
Other names Ranjit Chowdhary
Ranjit Chowdhury
Relatives Pearl Padamsee (mother)

Ranjit Chowdhry (19 September 1955 – 15 April 2020) was an Indian character actor, known for his roles in television, movies, and theatre. He appeared in two episodes of The Office, as Vikram, a telemarketer who worked with Michael, and was briefly hired for The Michael Scott Paper Company.

For his role as Rocky in Deepa Mehta's 2002 film Bollywood/Hollywood, he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at the 23rd Genie Awards His other most noted role was in Last Holiday (2006), starring Queen Latifah.

Life and career

Ranjit was born and raised in Mumbai in a family with a theatre background, where he received his early education at Campion School, Mumbai, and started his acting career. His father is from a Gujjar background, while his mother, Pearl Padamsee, was of partial Jewish descent on her mother's side, but remained Christian during her life. He made his film debut in Basu Chatterjee's Khatta Meetha, following which he played prominent parts in Hindi comedy classics such as Basu Chatterjee's Baton Baton Mein (1979) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Khubsoorat (1980). Thereafter, he moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He wrote the screenplay and acted in Sam & Me (directed by Deepa Mehta), which won an honorable mention at Cannes in 1991.

He was a guest star in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and had appeared in two seasons of The Office and Prison Break.

Sanjay Gupta, who worked with Chowdhry on the film Kaante, tweeted that his performances were a joy and "KHATTA MEETHA is my favourite."

Personal life

His mother, Pearl Padamsee, was a well-known theatre personality, drama teacher and actress on stage and film. His stepfather, Alyque Padamsee, was a theatre actor and director who also headed an advertising company in Mumbai. He had one older sister named Rohini (c. 1951 – 26 September 1961), who died from nephritis.

Chowdhry was admitted into Breach Candy Hospital, in Mumbai, on 14 April 2020 for a ruptured ulcer in the intestine, and underwent emergency surgery. He died on 15 April 2020 from COVID-19. He was in Mumbai for a dental procedure, and was delayed there due to the spread of COVID-19.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1978 Khatta Meetha Russie Mistry
1979 Baton Baton Mein Sabhi Perreira
1980 Khubsoorat Jagan Gupta
1981 Chakra Benwa
1981 Kaalia Boot Polish Boy
1990 Lonely in America Arun
1991 Sam & Me Nikhil 'Shwartza' Parikh
1991 Mississippi Masala Anil
1993 The Night We Never Met Cabbie
1994 It Could Happen to You Mr. Patel
1994 Bandit Queen Shiv Narain
1994 Camilla Officer Kapur
1994 The Mesmerist Damodar
1994 Boozecan Snake
1995 The Perez Family Indian immigration official
1996 Girl 6 Indian Shopkeeper
1996 Fire Mundu
1996 ...: A Tale of Love Babu
1996 I'm Not Rappaport Kamir
1997 His & Hers Taxi Driver
1998 Such a Long Journey Pavement Artist
1999 Coming Soon Afshin
2000 Autumn in New York Fakir
2000 King of the Jungle Mr. Sith
2002 Bollywood/Hollywood Rocky
2002 Kaante Det. Constable
2005 Building Girl Mr. Singh
2006 Last Holiday Dr. Gupta
2006 American Blend Yogi
2006 Kettle of Fish Doorman
2006 Prison Break Dr. Marvin Gudat 2 episodes
2006 Hope & a Little Sugar Ghosh
2007, 2009 The Office Vikram Episodes: "Money"
"Dream Team"
2009 Today's Special Regular #1
2010 God's Land Raja Chatterjee
2011 Breakaway Mr. Patel Senior
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