19 People We Will Miss
1. Gore Vidal, 86
An American author, playwright, essayist and an occasional actor, who also aspired to be the President. Few litterateurs have made their presence felt in public life as Vidal. He was witty and acerbic and his penchant for sharp, incisive statements put him at loggerheads with his contemporaries like Norman Mailer and Truman Capote.
2. Neil Armstrong, 82
He took one small step for man that turned out to be a giant leap for mankind. He was the first man to land on the moon on July 20, 1969, a feat that catches the fancy of generations even today.
3. AK Hangal, 95
The kindly old man of Indian cinema acted in over 200 films. including Sholay and Lagaan. He was never the star of a movie, but he gave Indian pop culture one of its most iconic movie lines: “Itna sannatta kyun hai bhai?”
4. Dara Singh, 84
Dara Singh was India’s ultimate gentle giant. In his early life, he earned international acclaim with his wrestling prowess, but the nation will remember him in his on-screen avatars, most fondly in his portrayal of Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar’s TV blockbuster Ramayan.
5. Yash Chopra, 80
The ‘king of romance’ gave us love stories like Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni and Veer Zaara. But his 5-decade-long career was not just about romantic dramas; he also gave us superhit thrillers like Deewar and Trishul, which established Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘angry young man’ image, and Darr with newcomer Shah Rukh Khan.
6. Jaspal Bhatti, 57
For Jaspal Bhatti, satire was mightier than the sword. He shot to fame with Flop Show on Doordarshan and was known for floating mock political parties, Hawala Party and Recession Party for instance, to expose corruption and those who revelled in it.
