Roshan Taneja, acting coach of Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, dies

Veteran acting coach Roshan Taneja passed away Friday night after prolonged illness. He was 87.

According to family sources, Taneja passed away at his residence in his sleep, "peacefully." He was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Taneja's cremation will be held Saturday, 4.30 PM in Santacruz.

Taneja was the former head of acting department in the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune. He later started his own 'Roshan Taneja School of Acting', here.

He trained actors like Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Rakesh Bedi among others.

Azmi took to Twitter to pay homage to her teacher.

"Late last night came the sad news that @RoshanTaneja passed away.He was my Guru at FTII and the only person whose feet I touched. I was privileged to be trained in Acting by him. Deepest condolences to Didi and the family. RIP Taneja Sir," she wrote.

Bedi also remembered Taneja and said he owed his career to the acting guru.

A very sad day for me. My guru Shri Roshan Taneja expired yesterday. I owe my career to him. RIP," he wrote alongside a picture of him with Taneja.