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{{Short description|British actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}{{EngvarB|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Roshan Seth
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1942|04|2}}
| birth_place = [[Patna]], [[Bihar Province]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = British, Indian
| occupation = Actor, writer, theatre director
| years_active = 1972–present
| awards =
| alma_mater = [[The Doon School]]<br/>[[London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]]
}}
'''Roshan Seth''' [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stantondavidson.co.uk/ViewProfileX.aspx?id=46|title=Stanton Davidson Associates|website=www.stantondavidson.co.uk|access-date=2020-01-09|archive-date=12 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812100450/http://www.stantondavidson.co.uk/ViewProfileX.aspx?id=46|url-status=live}}</ref> (born 2 April 1942) is a British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director who has worked in the [[United Kingdom]], [[United States]] and [[India]].<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1921753 Audio interview with Seth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231211846/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1921753|date=31 December 2017}} on [[NPR]]'s ''[[All Things Considered]]'', 3 June 2004</ref> He began his acting career in the early 1960s in the UK, but left acting the following decade and moved to India to work as a [[journalist]]. In the 1980s, he rose to prominence for his comeback performance as [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in [[Richard Attenborough]]'s [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning film ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'', which brought him a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|BAFTA Award]] nomination for [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]] and reignited his interest in acting.

He has since appeared in numerous British and American feature films and television programmes, with roles ranging from Chattar Lal in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'', Amit Rao in ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]'', Papa Hussein in ''[[My Beautiful Laundrette]]'', patriarch Jay in ''[[Mississippi Masala]]'' and [[Dhalsim]] in ''[[Street Fighter (1994 film)|Street Fighter: The Movie]]''. He won the [[Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role|Genie Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]] for the Canadian film ''[[Such a Long Journey (film)|Such a Long Journey]]''. Other projects he has appeared include ''[[Bharat Ek Khoj]]'', ''[[Not Without My Daughter (film)|Not Without My Daughter]]'', ''[[The Buddha of Suburbia (TV serial)|The Buddha of Suburbia]]'', ''[[Vertical Limit]], [[Monsoon Wedding]], [[Proof (2005 film)|Proof]], [[Ek Tha Tiger]], [[Indian Summers (TV Series)|Indian Summers]]'' and ''[[Dumbo (2019 film)|Dumbo]]''.

==Early life==
Seth was born on 2 April 1942 in [[Patna]], [[Bihar Province]], [[British Raj|British India]], to a Muslim [[Anglo-Indian]] mother and a Hindu father.<ref name="Who">{{cite book|title=Canadian Who's Who 2001|last= Lumley|first=Elizabeth|year=2001|isbn=0-8020-4958-3|page=1166}}</ref><ref name=people>{{cite news|last=Levin|first=Eric|title=By Deliberately Seeking Obscurity Indian Actor Roshan Seth Ensures His Magnetism Onstage|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20092052,00.html|newspaper=People|date=28 October 1985|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817011140/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20092052,00.html|archive-date=17 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> His father was a biochemistry professor at [[Patna Medical College and Hospital|Patna Medical College]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Conversations with actors on film, television, and stage performance|year=2002|publisher=Heinemann|isbn=0325003726|page=157|author=Carole Zucker|quote=He came to Patna as a professor of biochemistry at the Patna Medical College.}}</ref> He was educated at [[The Doon School]], then did graduate studies in History at [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi|St Stephen's College]]. There, he honed his theatrical skills at the [[Shakespeare]] Society, before moving to England for further training.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7QpzAAAAMAAJ&q=roshan+seth+doon&dq=roshan+seth+doon&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cZTkUPC5K4aM0wXDx4HgBA&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBg Requiem for a rainbow: a Fijian Indian story – Satendra Pratap Nandan – Google Books]</ref> He trained at the [[London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]] in 1965 and started working in British television and repertory theatre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/529878/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Seth, Roshan (1942–) Biography|access-date=31 January 2009|archive-date=2 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202153750/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/529878/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Donnell2002">{{cite book|author=Suman Bhuchar|editor-link=Alison Donnell|editor=Alison Donnell|title=Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfdpdZ9DwH0C&pg=PA276|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-70025-7|page=276|chapter=Seth, Roshan}}</ref>

==Career==
Seth's first break came in Peter Brook's production of ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', which toured in 1972. Seth entered feature films in Richard Lester's ''[[Juggernaut (1974 film)|Juggernaut]]'' (1974). However, subsequent filmmakers only wanted Seth for limited ethnic roles, so that his career stalled.<ref name="Donnell2002"/>

Discouraged, Seth abandoned acting and returned to India in 1977, where he worked as a journalist and editor of the quarterly journal published by the [[India International Centre]], [[Delhi]]. He took leave from this job after [[Richard Attenborough]] asked Seth to play [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] in ''[[Gandhi (1982 film)|Gandhi]]'' (1982).<ref name="Donnell2002"/> Seth was nominated for the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]] for his performance in the film.<ref name=awards/> Seth subsequently also played Jawaharlal Nehru in ''[[Bharat Ek Khoj]]'', a 53-episode series on [[Doordarshan]] in 1988.

[[David Hare (dramatist)|David Hare]] met Seth in Delhi in 1982, and asked him to play author Victor Mehta in Hare's biographical play ''A Map of the World''. Seth left his editing job and returned to acting.<ref name="Donnell2002"/> ''A Map of the World'' toured for several years in Australia, London, and New York. After the release of the multi-award-winning movie ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' (1982), Seth was much in demand, and when ''A Map of the World'''s Broadway run finished, his movie career took off. His work in 1984 included major roles in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'' and [[David Lean]]'s ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]''. Following that he played a lead in ''[[My Beautiful Laundrette]]'' (1985), and he played Pancks in ''[[Little Dorrit (1987 film)|Little Dorrit]]'' (1988).

Seth's film credits in the 1990s included roles in ''[[Not Without My Daughter (film)|Not Without My Daughter]]'' (1991), ''[[Mississippi Masala]]'' (1991), ''[[Street Fighter (1994 film)|Street Fighter]]'' (1994), and [[Harish Saluja]]'s ''The Journey'' (1997). In 1993, he played the role of Haroon Amir in the television miniseries ''[[The Buddha of Suburbia (TV serial)|The Buddha of Suburbia]]'', for which he was nominated a [[Royal Television Society]] award for "Best Actor – Male". In 1995, he played the role of Baba in ''Flight'', for which he won the "Best Actor" award at the [[Sochi]] International Film Festival. In 1998, he played the leading role of Gustad Noble in the film ''[[Such a Long Journey (film)|Such a Long Journey]]'', for which he won the [[Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role]].<ref name=awards>{{cite web|title=Awards for Roshan Seth|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0786022/awards|access-date=24 January 2009|archive-date=3 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203210006/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0786022/awards|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2001, Seth appeared in ''[[Monsoon Wedding]]'' and he has continued working steadily in British and American films. In 2003 he played the lead in the American film ''[[Cosmopolitan (film)|Cosmopolitan]]'', which was broadcast nationally on [[PBS]]. He also recently returned to mainstream Indian cinema with his role in the 2012 film, ''[[Ek Tha Tiger]]''.

==Personal life==
Seth was married to author Pepita Seth, but they separated in the late 1980s and divorced in 2004.<ref>{{cite news|last=Manmadhan|first=Prema|title=A Malayali in spirit|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/12/06/stories/2008120653261500.htm|date=6 December 2008|access-date=3 December 2013|archive-date=19 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619232325/https://www.thehindu.com/archive/print/2008/12/06/|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=De|first=Shobhaa|title=Stories around my dining table|url=http://www.mid-day.com/smd/2004/mar/78649.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131203215913/http://www.mid-day.com/smd/2004/mar/78649.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 December 2013|newspaper=Mid-Day|date=14 March 2004}}</ref> His brother is the retired Indian diplomat [[Aftab Seth]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7QpzAAAAMAAJ&q=roshan+seth+doon|title=Requiem for a rainbow: a Fijian Indian story – Satendra Pratap Nandan – Google Books|isbn=9780646415895|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-date=23 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223071626/https://books.google.com/books?id=7QpzAAAAMAAJ&q=roshan+seth+doon&dq=roshan+seth+doon&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UZXkUIKOEIep0AXtloDAAQ&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBg|url-status=live|last1=Nandan|first1=Satendra Pratap|year=2001}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Director
!Notes
|-
| 1974 || ''[[Juggernaut (1974 film)|Juggernaut]]'' || Azad
|[[Richard Lester]]||
|-
| 1982 || ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' || [[Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]
|[[Richard Attenborough]]||Nominated- [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1984 || ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'' || [[List of Indiana Jones characters#Chattar_Lal|Chattar Lal]]
|[[Steven Spielberg]]||
|-
| ''[[A Passage to India (film)|A Passage to India]]'' || Advocate Amrit Rao
|[[David Lean]]||
|-
| 1985 || ''[[My Beautiful Laundrette]]'' || Papa Hussein
|[[Stephen Frears]]||
|-
| 1987 ||[[Partition (1987 film)|''Partition'']]||
|[[Ken McMullen (film director)|Ken McMullen]]||
|-
| 1988 || ''[[Little Dorrit (1987 film)|Little Dorrit]]'' || [[List of Dickensian characters#P|Mr. Pancks]]
|[[Christine Edzard]]||
|-
|1989
|''[[Slipstream (1989 film)|Slipstream]]''|| George Nyman
|[[Steven Lisberger]]||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1990 ||''[[Mountains of the Moon (film)|Mountains of the Moon]]''|| Ben Amir
|[[Bob Rafelson]]||
|-
| ''[[1871 (film)|1871]]''|| Lord Grafton
|[[Ken McMullen (film director)|Ken McMullen]]
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1991 ||''[[Not Without My Daughter (film)|Not Without My Daughter]]''|| Houssein
|[[Brian Gilbert (director)|Brian Gilbert]]||
|-
| ''[[Mississippi Masala]]''|| Jay
|[[Mira Nair]]||
|-
|''[[London Kills Me]]''|| Dr. Bubba
|[[Hanif Kureishi]]||
|-
|1992
|''[[Electric Moon]]''|| Ranveer
|[[Pradip Krishen]]||
|-
| 1994 ||''[[Street Fighter (1994 film)|Street Fighter]]''||[[Dhalsim|Dr. Dhalsim]]
|[[Steven E. de Souza]]||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1995 ||''Bideshi''|| Ajoy
|[[Frances-Anne Solomon]]||[[Short film]]
|-
| ''Solitaire for 2''|| Sandip Tamar
|[[Gary Sinyor]]||
|-
| 1997 ||''The Journey''|| Kishan Singh
|[[Harish Saluja]]||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1998 ||''[[Such a Long Journey (film)|Such a Long Journey]]''|| Gustad Noble
|[[Sturla Gunnarsson]]||[[Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role]]
|-
|''[[Bombay Boys]]''|| Pesi Shroff
|[[Kaizad Gustad]]||
|-
|1999
|''[[Secret of the Andes (film)|Secret of the Andes]]''|| Don Benito
|Alejandro Azzano||
|-
| 2000 ||''[[Vertical Limit]]''|| Col. Amir Salim
|[[Martin Campbell]]||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2001 ||''[[Monsoon Wedding]]''|| Mohan Rai
|[[Mira Nair]]||
|-
| ''[[Wings of Hope (film)|Wings of Hope]]''|| Shekar Khanna
|[[Werner Herzog]]||
|-
|''[[South West 9]]''|| Ravi
|[[Richard Parry (director)|Richard Parry]]||
|-
| rowspan="2" |2004
|''[[Spivs (film)|Spivs]]''|| Omar
|[[Colin Teague]]||
|-
|''Se sarà luce sarà bellissimo''||[[Aldo Moro]]
|[[Aurelio Grimaldi]]||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2005 ||''[[Frozen (2005 film)|Frozen]]''|| Noyen
|Juliet McKoen||
|-
| ''[[Proof (2005 film)|Proof]]''|| Professor Bhandari
|[[John Madden (director)|John Madden]]||
|-
| 2006 ||''[[Kabul Express]]''|| Narrator (voice)
|[[Kabir Khan (director)|Kabir Khan]]||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2007 ||''Broken Thread''|| Chief of Enquiry Commission
|Mahesh Mathai
|
|-
|''[[Guru (2007 film)|Guru]]''|| Thapar
|[[Mani Ratnam]]||
|-
| ''[[Amal (film)|Amal]]''|| Suresh Gupta
|[[Richie Mehta]]||
|-
| 2010 ||''[[The Truth About Tigers]]''|| Narrator
|[[Shekar Dattatri]]||[[Short film]]
|-
| 2011 ||''[[Trishna (2011 film)|Trishna]]''|| Mr. Singh
|[[Michael Winterbottom]]||
|-
| 2012 ||''[[Ek Tha Tiger]]''|| Professor Kidwai
|[[Kabir Khan (director)|Kabir Khan]]
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2013 ||''Brahmin Bulls''|| Ashok Sharma
|Mahesh Pailoor||
|-
| ''[[The Lovers (2013 film)|The Lovers]]''|| Sadhu
|[[Roland Joffé]]||
|-
| 2016 ||''[[City of Tiny Lights (film)|City of Tiny Lights]]''|| Farzad Akhtar
|[[Pete Travis]]||
|-
|2018
|''Boogie Man''
|Rupesh
|[[Andy Morahan]]
|
|-
| 2019 ||''[[Dumbo (2019 film)|Dumbo]]''|| Pramesh Singh
|[[Tim Burton]]||
|-
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1964
|[[Crossroads (British TV series)|''Crossroads'']]
|Dr. Ahmed
|
|-
|1966
|[[Public Eye (TV series)|''Public Eye'']]
|Soondra
|Episode: "Tell Me About the Crab"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1967
|''[[No Hiding Place]]''
|Kuldip Mahal
|Episode: "The Game"
|-
|''[[Theatre 625]]''
|Vinay
|Episode: "55 Columns"
|-
|1968-69
|''[[The Wednesday Play]]''
|Ben Scalfe / Student
|2 episodes
|-
|1969
|''[[Strange Report]]''
|Jamal
|Episode: "Report 3424: Epidemic - A Most Curious Crime"
|-
|1971
|[[The Doctors (1969 TV series)|''The Doctors'']]
|Bingi Singh
|Episode 1.88
|-
|1972
|''To Encourage the Others''
|Jazwon
|[[Television film]]
|-
|1973
|''[[The Protectors]]''
|Persuer
|Episode: "...With a Little Help From My Friends"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1975
|''[[Six Days of Justice]]''
|Mr. Wood
|Episode: "Belonging"
|-
|[[General Hospital (British TV series)|''General Hospital'']]
|Dr. Narasjee
|Episode: "The White Rajah"
|-
| rowspan="3" |1976
|''[[Play for Today]]''
|Dr. Milma
|Episode: "The Peddler"
|-
|''Centre Play''
|Anil Roy
|Episode: "Commonwealth Season: India - Apply, Apply, No Reply"
|-
|[[Crown Court (TV series)|''Crown Court'']]
|Farooq Rana
|Episode: "A Matter of Honour: Part 1"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1987
|''[[The Happy Valley]]''|| Defense Solicitor ||[[Television film]]
|-
|''[[Emmerdale]]''
|Howard
|2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" |1988
|[[First Born (TV series)|''First Born'']]
|Dr. Antony Graham
|Episode 1.2
|-
|[[Deadline (1988 film)|''Deadline'']]
|The Emir of Hawa
|[[Television film]]
|-
|''[[Bharat Ek Khoj]]''
|[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
|Main cast; Series 1
|-
|1989
|''[[In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones]]''
|Y.D. Billimoria / Yamdoot
|[[Television film]]
|-
| rowspan="3" |1992
|[[Casualty (TV series)|''Casualty'']]
|Sujit Pratkash
|Episode: "Rates of Exchange"
|-
|''[[Screen One]]''
|Mr. Humphrey
|Episode: "Running Late"
|-
|''[[Stalin (1992 film)|Stalin]]''
|[[Lavrentiy Beria]]
|[[Television film]]
|-
|1993
|[[The Buddha of Suburbia (TV serial)|''The Buddha of Suburbia'']]
|Haroon Amir
|[[Television film]]
Nominated- [[Royal Television Society|Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor]]
|-
|1994
|''Siren Spirits''
|Ajoy
|[[Miniseries]]; 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" |1996
|''[[The Bill]]''
|Ahmed Seth
|Episode: "Blood Brothers"
|-
|[[Dangerfield (TV series)|''Dangerfield'']]
|Aslam Choudhury
|Episode: "Treasure"
|-
|''Die Flughafenklinik''
|Dr. Tenshin Sharafi
|Episode: "Fluchthilfe"
|-
| rowspan="4" |1997
|''Turning World''
|Dr. Khan
|3 episodes
|-
|''Flight''
|Baba
| rowspan="4" |[[Television film]]
|-
|''Food for Ravens''
|Nehru
|-
|''Grandpa Chatterjee''
|Grandpa Chatterjee
|-
|1998
|''Iqbal''
|Ulla Khasi
|-
|1999
|''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]''
|Sheikh Khamal
|Episode: "Tales of Innocence"
|-
|2001
|''[[Holby City]]''
|Kushara Bandara
|Episode: "Tip of the Iceburg"
|-
| rowspan="4" |2003
|[[Spooks (TV series)|''Spooks'']]
|Fazul Azzam
|Episode: "Nest of Angels"
|-
|[[Second Generation (film)|''Second Generation'']]
|Mohan
|[[Television film]]
|-
|''[[Silent Witness]]''
|Afzal Khan
|Episode: [[List of Silent Witness episodes#ep45|Answering Fire]]
|-
|''[[Cosmopolitan (film)|Cosmopolitan]]''
|Gopal
|[[Television film]]
|-
|2004
|[[Blue Murder (British TV series)|''Blue Murder'']]
|Jameel Khan
|Episode: "Fragile Relations"
|-
|2005
|''The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag''
|Pundit
|[[Television film]]
|-
|2007
|''The Last Days of the Raj''
|[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Television film]]
|-
|2008
|''[[The Cheetah Girls: One World]]''
|Uncle Kamal Bhatia
|-
|2015-16
|''[[Indian Summers (TV Series)|Indian Summers]]''
|Darius Dalal
|Main cast; Series 1-2
|-
|2017
|''[[Diana and I]]''
|Uncle Zaheer
|[[Television film]]
|-
|2019
|''[[Beecham House]]''
|Emperor Shah Alam
|Main cast; Series 1
|-
|2021
|''[[Behind Her Eyes (British TV series)|Behind Her Eyes]]''
|Dr. Sharma
|
|-
|}

==Selected theatre credits==
* ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''
* ''A Map of the World'' (Victor Mehta)
* ''[[King Lear]]'' (The Fool)
* [[The Millionairess (play)|''The Millionairess'']] (The Doctor)
* [[Amadeus (play)|''Amadeus'']] ([[Antonio Salieri]])

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0786022|Roshan Seth}}
*[http://www.filmreference.com/film/53/Roshan-Seth.html Roshan Seth at Filmreference.com]
*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/529878/index.html Roshan Seth at ScreenOnline]
*[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1921753 Roshan Seth interview] on [[NPR]]'s ''[[All Things Considered]]'', 3 June 2004

{{ACCT Best Actor}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seth, Roshan}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century British male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century British male actors]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners]]
[[Category:British male film actors]]
[[Category:British male stage actors]]
[[Category:British male television actors]]
[[Category:British male voice actors]]
[[Category:British people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:Male actors from Patna]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from Bihar]]
[[Category:St. Xavier's Patna alumni]]
[[Category:The Doon School alumni]]
[[Category:University of Delhi alumni]]

Roshan Seth - Revision history

imported>MetaWiz4331: /* External links */