Veteran actor Farrukh Jaffar, known for her performance in films Sultan (2016) and Gulabo Sitabo (2020), breathed her last on Friday at a hospital in Mumbai. She was 89.

Her elder daughter Mehru Jaffar said her mother was unwell and was admitted to the hospital earlier this month. “She was admitted to the hospital on October 4 due to breathlessness. She was not well. Her lungs were unable to take the oxygen that was being given to her. She passed away in the evening at around 6 pm,” Mehru said.

Jaffar, who was one of the first radio announcers of Vividh Bharti Lucknow in 1963, began her on screen journey with the 1981 classic Umrao Jaan, in which she played mother to the character played by Rekha.

She later appeared in some TV shows but found further acclaim with the 2004 Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Swades.

Some of her other notable performances were in Aamir Khan-backed Peepli Live (2010) in which she essayed the role of a bidi-smoking cantankerous mother-in-law and Salman Khan-led Sultan, where she was seen as the actor’s uber-cool grandmother. She also played actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s grandmother in Photograph (2019).

Jaffar’s grandson Shaaz Ahmad also announced the news of her death on Twitter. He wrote, “My grandmother and wife of Freedom fighter, Ex MLC Mr S M Jaffar and Veteran Actress Farrukh Jafar passed away today at 7 pm (soc).