Died: Ruby Burjor Patel, 87, veteran stage actress who was equally versatile in Gujarati and English productions; on May 11, 2020 in Bombay.
With her husband Burjor, Ruby acted in several Gujarati and English comedies beginning the 1950s for Adi Marzban’s Cooperative Players. The couple joined the Parsi wing of the Indian National Theatre and their repertoire there included serious plays. Ruby and Burjor formed Burjor Patel Productions in the late 1970s. After a stint of over 20 years in Dubai when Burjor was general manager at Khaleej Times, the duo returned to Bombay in 2009.
Theater buffs remember the Patels for their performances in Tirangi Tehmul, Gher Gungro ne Ghotalo, Taru Maru Bakalyu, Lafra Sadan, Rang Rasiya and Hello Inspector. In Laughter in the House, a 2011compilation of Parsi theater down the ages, author Meher Marfatia called Ruby "one of Parsi theater’s most adored actresses… If there is a chance to get back quality theater, it might well lie with the Patels.”
Reportedly, Marzban had once told the initially soft-spoken Ruby, "I will have to tell the audience to move chairs further up than the first row if they want to hear you on stage.” The actress had told Parsiana in February 2017 while rehearsing for a revue that "He (Marzban) taught me how to project my voice.” Director Sam Kerawala recalled in the Mid-Day of May 13 that when in her teens, Ruby was permitted by her father to work with Marzban on the condition that Kerawala would pick her up and drop her off to her residence after every rehearsal.
Ruby Patel (clockwise from top left) in Cactus Flower; with Hosi Vasunia in My Darling Daughter
Photos: Shernaz Patel;with Dadi Sarkari, Burjor Patel, Dinshah Daji and Piloo Wadia in Piroja Bhavan
Photo: Laughter in the House;
with Burjor Photo: Sooni Taraporevala, Laughter in the House
The poise and respect she commanded over the years as a senior stage star made many juniors describe her as an "inspiration.” Rajit Kapur, founder of the theater company Rage Productions along with the Patels’ elder daughter Shernaz, a versatile actress, and playwright Rahul da Cunha, penned a poem that was carried in the MumbaiMirror of May 16. He referred to "My Ruby Mummy’s… presence on stage/ Her ability to engage/ Her numerous plays/ Her nonchalant (s)ways…”
The film Percy where Ruby played the role of a middle-aged widow Banubai trying to eke out an honest living whilst pinning all her hopes and smothering her son with affection and care was declared the best feature film in Gujarati at the national film awards presentation in 1990. Initially intimidated when selected for the role in the full-length film, she later conveyed to Parsiana (see "The lonesome twosome,” June 1991) "havé chasko lagoch (it has created a craving) to work in more films.”
Ruby and Burjor were jointly recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Thespo Theatre Group in 2012. Burjor had then said, "I did not know theater had a Lifetime Achievement Award. Theater goes on forever. It doesn’t end with a lifetime (see "Drama’s dynamic duo,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, January 21, 2013).”
Ruby is survived by Burjor and their children Marzban, Shernaz and Feeroza Vishal Kapoor.
Farrokh Jijina