Actor Mac Mohan passes away

Veteran character actor Mac Mohan, immortalised in the role of Gabbar Singh's sidekick Sambha in Ramesh Sippy's blockbuster Sholay, died here on Monday.

The 71-year-old actor was suffering from cancer and breathed his last at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in suburban Mumbai, hospital sources said.

Born as Mohan Makhijaney, Mac Mohan is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. He was the maternal uncle of actor Raveena Tandon and also late Sunil Dutt's classmate in Lucknow from where he hailed.

Mac Mohan's roots as an actor were in theatre. He forayed into the film industry as an assistant to Chetan Anand following which he made his debut in the 1964 film Haqeeqat.

He had acted in more than 175 films in a career spanning 46 years.

He shot to fame as the gun-toting dacoit Sambha in Sholay. He was also part of several blockbusters with Amitabh Bachchan like Zanjeer, Don, Majboor, Shaan, and Kala Pathar.

His last roles were in Zoya Aktar's debut film Luck by Chance last year and a Punjabi film called Dil Dariya.

Mr. Sippy said Sambha's role immortalised Mac Mohan. “No one could have suited Sambha's role better than Mac Mohan. He will be always remembered by that role,” he told PTI.

The actor, who was mostly a part of the villain's gang in the films that he worked, played the bad guy despite not having a physique that could look intimidating on screen.