'Macmohan was a soft-hearted gentle soul'

Amitabh Bachchan remembered his Sholay co-star Macmohan as a "soft-hearted gentle soul", whose onscreen persona belied his "kind nature".

Macmohan, who immortalised the role of Gabbar Singh's sidekick Sambha in Ramesh Sippy's blockbuster, died on Monday evening. The actor was suffering from cancer.

"There is sadness in declaring that this evening actor Macmohan passed away. He was a soft hearted gentle soul. His frail body defeated the strength of his character and his kind nature. A person of great care and concern for all," Bachchan, wrote on his blog.

Macmohan starred alongside the 67-year-old actor in films like Zanjeer, Don, Shaan' and Satte Pe Satta.

"I worked with him in several films, films that can be identified as being some of the most memorable in my repertoire. Some of the roles he did were evil in nature, quite the opposite of his own personal demeanour. His laughter was full throated and free; a symbol of the free spirit he always depicted," Bachchan said.

"He will be missed and remembered for many reasons, but perhaps the most for his reference in the film Sholay as Samba, Amjad's, and the dreaded character he played of Gabbar Singh's, gang," Bachchan added.

Born as Mohan Makhijani, Macmohan died at the age of 71. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. He was the maternal uncle of actress Raveena Tandon and also late Sunil Dutt's classmate in Lucknow from where he hailed.

Image: Amitabh Bachchan and Macmohan in Don.