Some interesting facts about the Padma Shri awardee Tom Alter, who was stereotyped as the perennial British man in Bollywood.
The renowned actor Tom Alter also acted in Satyajit Ray's 'Shatranj Ke Khilari', based on Munshi Premchand's short story. The veteran actor played Chief Custom Officer in his acting debut for Ramanand Sagar's 'Charas' in 1976, starring Dharmendra and Hema Malini. His last film was 'Sargoshiyan' with Alok Nath and Farida Jalal, which released in May this year. Alter has appeared in over 300 films like Shyam Benegal's 'Junoon' (1979), Manoj Kumar's 'Kranti' (1981) and Raj Kapoor's 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili' (1985), 'Aashiqui', 'Parinda', 'Sardar Patel' and 'Gandhi'. He has acted in Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Telegu, Tamil and Kumaoni films. His debut in regional cinema was with Kannada film 'Kanneshwara Rama' in 1977. On television, Alter has worked in popular shows like 'Junoon', 'Zabaan Sambhalke', 'Bharat EK Khoj', 'Shaktimaan', 'Captain Vyom', 'Yahaan Ke Hum Sikandar' and 'Rishton Ka Chakravyuh'. Alter was closely involved in theatre throughout his career. He co-founded Motley Productions with Naseeruddin Shah and Gilani in 1979. His prominent stage works include the two-and-a-half-hour-long solo play in Urdu, 'Maulana' (in pic), 'Babur ke Aulaad', 'Lal Qile ka Aakhri Mushaira', 'Ghalib ke Khat', 'Teesveen Shatabdi', 'Copenhagen', 'In Ghalib In Delhi' and the theatrical adaptation of William Dalrymple's 'City of Djinns'.
Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor of American descent. He was best known for his work in Hindi cinema and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
After graduating from FTII, Alter headed straight to Bombay and soon got his first break in the Dev Anand starrer Saheb Bahadur (1977), directed by Chetan Anand. However, his first release was Ramanand Sagar's Charas. This was followed by roles in Ram Bharose, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin and Parvarish. He dubbed for actor Jeevan for the innocent person of the twin roles played by Jeevan in the film Amar Akbar Anthony.
Alter was fluent in Hindi and Urdu, and was knowledgeable about Indian culture. He could also read Urdu and was fond of Shayari. He worked for noted filmmakers like Satyajit Ray in Shatranj Ke Khilari and is remembered for his role as a British officer in Kranti. He got the opportunity to act with his idol Rajesh Khanna in the film Naukri, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1978 and later in Chetan Anand's Kudrat. In Sardar, the 1993 film biography of Indian leader Sardar Patel, which focused on the events surrounding the partition and independence of India, Alter portrayed Lord Mountbatten of Burma. He also acted in the Hollywood movie One Night with the King with Peter O'Toole.
In 1996 he appeared in the Assamese film Adajya, and in 2007 acted in William Dalrymple's City of Djinns alongside Zohra Sehgal and Manish Joshi Bismil. He also appeared in the solo play Maulana and the film Ocean of An Old Man.
Alter played the role of a doctor in Bheja Fry, a comedy movie starring Rajat Kapoor.
In April 2011 he acted in a short film Yours, Maria directed by Chirag Vadgama, playing the lead role of Matthew Chacha in the movie. Alter lent his voice for the authorised audio autobiography of Dr. Verghese Kurien, titled The Man Who Made The Elephant Dance, which was released in 2012. Some of his most famous movie roles have been as Musa in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's acclaimed crime drama Parinda, Mahesh Bhatt's blockbuster romance Aashiqui, and Ketan Mehta's Sardar, in which Alter essayed the role of Lord Mountbatten.
His last film was Hamari Paltan (2018).