Thomas Beach Alter, famously known as Tom Alter, was a renowned face on the Bollywood silver screen. With every film, he made a lasting impression on the audience with his piercing blue eyes and impeccable Hindi. His tall stature and throw of voice won the hearts of the viewers. He has starred in notable films like Manmohan Desai’s Parvarish, Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari and Nasir Hussain’s Hum Kisise Kum Naheen. Did you know that he was highly inspired by Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna? September 29 marks Tom Alter’s death anniversary. On this occasion, let’s take a look at a glimpse of his life.
Tom Alter has predominantly worked in Hindi film industry and Indian theatre. For his contributions to the industry, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. He was also called a “blue-eyed saheb with impeccable Hindi.” While teaching at a school in Jagadhri, Haryana, he began to watch Hindi films. It was during this time that he began watching Hindi films and saw Aradhana, which proved to be a turning point in his career. He quickly began to consider a career in acting. He headed to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, where he studied acting under Roshan Taneja. In one interview, he had claimed that he “came to Mumbai to become Rajesh Khanna” and not act on stage.
Tom Alter worked in many films from 1970 to 2017 and his acting was highly appreciated by the audience. He majorly got the roles of British Officers or foreign characters. The actor has worked in more than 100 films. He marked his debut with the film Mrig Trishna. He has worked in films like Charas, Laila Majnu, Saheb Bahadur, Hum Tere Aashiq Hain, Kranti, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Suryavanshi, Shaheed Uddham Singh, Veer-Zaara, Bheja Fry and many others. He was last seen in 2019 in Kitaab, a short film.
In September 2017, the actor was diagnosed with stage IV skin cancer. On September 29, he breathed his last at his Mumbai residence.
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