Actress Delnaaz Irani remembers her thespian uncle-mentor Dinyar Contractor, who passed away at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday morning at the age of 77
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 6, 2019)

Veteran stage, TV and film actor Dinyar Contractor passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday at 77. The thespian had devoted over five decades of his life to theatre, beginning with Eruch Pavri’s Mamai Ni Musaafri (an old Parsi fairytale) in 1965 and was seen in films like the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Baadshah and Abbas-Mustan’s 36 China Town. In January this year, he was awarded the Padma Shri.

Actress Delnaaz Irani, who made her stage debut in his play Kitty Kitty Bang Bang at the age of 18, informs that Contractor had been critical since a month. “His organs had started failing, but the best thing was that his brain was functioning and every time someone visited him at the hospital, he would smile at them and respond. He had always been a jovial person. A while ago he had undergone surgeries for his knee and back and was recuperating, but the last month was bad,” shares Delnaaz, whose elder brother Paurus is married to Contractor’s niece, Persis.

Talking about his role in her career, the actress asserted that he was her mentor first and uncle later. “He taught me everything about theatre and acting. In 2017, I was doing a Gujarati play called Powerfool Couple and he loved it so much, he wanted to be a part of it. So, he bought the rights to a few shows of the play and we added a character to it. It was a riot to be on stage with him. I was a part of all his English plays. He was my teacher, my godfather,” Delnaaz said.

A few months ago, the actress had invited Dinsu, as she fondly called her uncle, to watch her new play, Wrong Number. “He showed up despite being ill, sat in the first row and was happy to see his student perform. Two days ago, when he was feeling better, I told him whenever I get a standing ovation, I thank two people—God and Dinsu,” she signed off.