Actor Ruby Patel passes away at 86; Paresh Rawal, other celebs give emotional tributes

Veteran theatre actor Ruby Patel passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday at the age of 86. Celebrities from the film industry paid emotional tributes after hearing the news of the demise.

One of the first to express his thoughts was Viveck Vaswani. The actor, who was known for films in the ‘80s and ‘90s like Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, tweeted that he was hurt by the death of the ‘theatre stalwart.' He recalled some of Ruby Patel’s hit partnerships with co-stars on the stage, one of them that led to '15 consecutive hits.'

Ruby Patel’s daughter Shernaz Patel is also a theatre actor but has also acted in numerous film like Black Guzaarish, Talaash, Rockstar, among others. Viveck recalled Shernaz’s film debut opposite him in Khandaan and being colleagues since then.

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Paresh Rawal called Ruby Patel of his favourite actresses of Gujarati and Parsi theatre. Desrcribing her an ‘accomplished performer and refine person’, the actor recalled working with her in ‘80.

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Raees director Rahul Dholakia mourned her loss by calling her a ‘wonderful person, fine human being and immensely talented actress.’

Ruby Patel’s husband Burjor Patel is also an acclaimed stage actor, and both had gained popularity in the 1960s. The duo’s comedy plays in Gujarati used to be popular back then and they were also invovled with the Parsi wing of the Indian National Theatre (INT). Gher Ghungro Ne Ghotalo, Tirangi Tehmul, Hello Inspector and Oogi Dahpun Ni Dadh were some of their well-known plays.

As per reports, the couple was living in Dubai for two decades before coming back to Mumbai in 2009.  Apart from Shernaz, they have two more children.    

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