Bollywood’s comedy king Asrani passes away at the age of 84

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Asrani Passes Away: Asrani, who has worked in more than 300 films in a career spanning five decades, has made people laugh with every character of his. However, the actor who brought a smile on everyone’s face is no more with us.

21 October, 2025

Asrani Passes Away: Veteran Bollywood actor Govardhan Asrani, whom the entire country knew only as Asrani, is no more with us. He breathed his last at the age of 84 on Monday (October 20, 2025) in a hospital in Juhu, Mumbai. Asrani was having trouble breathing for some days. It is being told that he died due to lungs being filled with water.

British era jailers

As soon as Asrani’s name is mentioned, his famous dialogue comes to mind, We are the jailers of the British era! This character from the film ‘Sholay’, released in 1975, is still a beautiful chapter of Hindi cinema comedy. Salim-Javed had written this character inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Great Dictator’ and Asrani made it immortal with his brilliant acting.

more than 300 movies

In his career spanning over 5 decades, Asrani worked in more than 300 films. He worked with stars of every generation, from Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan to Akshay Kumar. Asrani made a mark in comedy which is difficult to touch. The name of his first film was ‘Hare Kaanch Ki Chudiyan’, which was released in the year 1967. However, Asrani got recognition from films like ‘Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar’ and ‘Chhoti Si Baat’. Asrani got a lot of support from the famous directors of his time, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar. This is the reason why he got a chance to show his acting skills in films like ‘Bawarchi’, ‘Mere Apne’, ‘Koshish’, ‘Parichay’ and ‘Abhimaan’.

Made new generation a fan

In the 90s and 2000s, Asrani made the new generation his fan with his work. In films like ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Hulchal’, ‘Chup Chup Ke’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’, he showed what is called real comedy. Apart from this, Asrani also played serious and negative roles in some films contrary to his image. He also tried his hand in direction and made the film ‘Chala Murari Hero Banne’. However, this film did not work.

Stars expressed grief

Asrani’s last wish was that his farewell ceremony be kept private. This is the reason why only family and a few close friends were present at his funeral. Many stars are expressing grief over Asrani’s demise on social media. Akshay Kumar wrote, met Asrani ji recently on the set. What a wonderful person he was. From ‘Hera Pheri’ to ‘De Dana Dan’, learned a lot from him. He gave us thousands of reasons to laugh. Whereas, filmmaker Anees Bazmee wrote – He used to make us laugh not only on screen but also in real life. Asrani ji’s laughter could erase anyone’s sadness. Famous poet Manoj Muntashir wrote – Jailer of the British era… you were the era of comedy.