Ranjit Chowdhry (19 September 1955 – 15 April 2020) was an Indian character actor, known for his roles in television, movies, and theatre. Rafta Rafta, Theatre Review, 3 May 2008. He appeared in two episodes of The Office, as Vikram, a telemarketer who worked with Michael, and was briefly hired for The Michael Scott Paper Company.
For his role as Rocky in Deepa Mehta's 2002 film Bollywood/Hollywood, he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at the 23rd Genie AwardsBollywood Hollywood gets 5 Genie nominations Times of India, 3 January 2003,Article describing a movie with Ranjit nominated for an award 3 January 2003. His other most noted role was in Last Holiday (2006), starring Queen Latifah. Interview with Ranjit Chowdhry including a photograph Rediff.com, 13 January 2006.
Life and career Ranjit was born and raised in Mumbai in a family with a theatre background, where he received his early education at Campion School, Mumbai, and started his acting career. His father is from a Gujjar background, while his mother, Pearl Padamsee, was of partial Jewish descent on her mother's side, but remained Christian during her life. He made his film debut in Basu Chatterjee's Khatta Meetha, following which he played prominent parts in Hindi comedy classics such as Basu Chatterjee's Baton Baton Mein (1979) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Khubsoorat (1980). Thereafter, he moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He wrote the screenplay and acted in Sam & Me (directed by Deepa Mehta), which won an honorable mention at Cannes in 1991.
He was a guest star in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and had appeared in two seasons of The Office and Prison Break.
Sanjay Gupta, who worked with Chowdhry on the film Kaante, tweeted that his performances were a joy and "Khatta Meetha is my favourite."
Personal life His mother, Pearl Padamsee, was a well-known theatre personality, drama teacher and actress on stage and film. His stepfather, Alyque Padamsee, was a theatre actor and director who also headed an advertising company in Mumbai. He had one older sister named Rohini (c. 1951 – 26 September 1961), who died from nephritis.
Death Chowdhry was in Mumbai for a dental procedure near the end of 2019, and was stuck in India due to the spread of COVID-19 and related lockdown. Chowdhry was admitted into Breach Candy Hospital, in Mumbai, on 14 April 2020 for a ruptured ulcer in the intestine, and underwent emergency surgery. He died on 15 April 2020 due to complications from surgery.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1978 Khatta Meetha Russie Mistry 1979 Baton Baton Mein Seby Perreira 1980 Khubsoorat Jagan Gupta 1981 Chakra Benwa 1981 Kaalia Boot Polish Boy 1990 Lonely in America Arun 1991 Sam & Me Nikhil 'Shwartza' Parikh 1991 Mississippi Masala Anil 1993 The Night We Never Met Cabbie 1994 It Could Happen to You Mr. Patel 1994 Bandit Queen Shiv Narain 1994 Camilla Officer Kapur 1994 The Mesmerist Damodar 1994 Boozecan Snake 1995 The Perez Family Indian immigration official 1996 Girl 6 Indian Shopkeeper 1996 Fire Mundu 1996 Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love Babu 1996 I'm Not Rappaport Kamir 1997 His & Hers Taxi Driver 1998 Such a Long Journey Pavement Artist 1999 Coming Soon Afshin 2000 Autumn in New York Fakir 2000 King of the Jungle Mr. Sith 2002 Bollywood/Hollywood Rocky 2002 Kaante Det. Constable 2005 Building Girl Mr. Singh 2006 Last Holiday Dr. Gupta 2006 American Blend Yogi 2006 Kettle of Fish Doorman 2006 Prison Break Dr. Marvin Gudat 2 episodes2006 Hope & a Little Sugar Ghosh 2007, 2009 The Office Vikram Episodes: "Money""Dream Team"2009 Today's Special Regular #1 2010 God's Land Raja Chatterjee 2011 Breakaway Mr. Patel Senior
References
External links
Interview with Ranjit Chowdhry including a photograph