Ad Guru And Actor Alyque Padamsee Dies At 90

Alyque Padamsee, noted ad guru and theatre personality, died in Mumbai today. He was 90.

Mr Padamsee was best known for his role as Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1982 historcial drama "Gandhi".  As the head of Lintas India, he was credited for building it into one of the top advertising agencies in the country.

Widely called the "Brand Father of Indian advertising", Alyque Padamsee was the brain behind several iconic Indian ad campaigns including Lalitaji for Surf, the Liril girl, Cherry Charlie for Cherry Blossom Shoe Polish, Hamara Bajaj, the MRF muscle man among many other memorable ads.

For his contributions to the creative field, he was honored with Padmashri in 2000 and was named "Advertising Man of the Century" by The Advertising Club in Mumbai. He also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna in 2012.

Condolences poured in for the ad guru on Twitter:

Saddened by the demise of Shri Alyque Padamsee. A wonderful communicator, his extensive work in world of advertising will always be remembered. His contribution to theatre was also noteworthy. My thoughts are with his family and friends in this sad hour: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 17, 2018

Sorry to hear of the passing of Alyque Padamsee, creative guru, theatre personality and doyen of our ad industry. My condolences to his family, friends and colleagues #PresidentKovind

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 17, 2018

Saddened to hear of the passing of advertising doyen #AlyquePadamsee

When he was head of Lintas he'd given me some of my early breaks in advertising photography

Ever grateful for the break and opportunity

RIP Sir
pic.twitter.com/5aZ8EUVT69

— atul kasbekar (@atulkasbekar) November 17, 2018

Very sad news #AlyquePadamsee#RIP

— Vani Tripathi Tikoo (@vanityparty) November 17, 2018

Oh no no no. A giant amongst men is no more. RIP sir

— Roshan Abbas (@roshanabbas) November 17, 2018

Deepest condolences and prayers for the family and loved ones of #AlyquePadamsee sir...a true pioneer. May he rest in peace.

— Nimrat Kaur (@NimratOfficial) November 17, 2018

Alyque Padamsee was born in 1928 into a traditional Khoja Muslim family from Gujarat. He was one of the eight children. In the theatre world, he was known for his theatre productions like Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and Tuglaq.