Match Cut Club

In a career spanning over 4 decades, Tom Alter worked in as many as 56 films. One of the finest actors Hindi cinema ever saw, Tom Alter was excellence redefined. With his demise at the age of 67, Indian cinema has lost a precious gem. As people poured tributes over social media mourning the passing of the legend, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar remember the time he first met Tom Alter. He posted his first interview ever taken and it was by none other than Tom Alter.

Through my first ever TV interview, met a true sports lover and a good human being. You will live in our hearts forever. RIP #TomAlter pic.twitter.com/BJ0fjqaSzM

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 30, 2017

Dated 19th January 1989, a time when many of us weren’t even born, the interview was taken when Tendulkar was merely 16 years old and was his first ever television interview.

Tom Alter loved sports. He played cricket for a Bollywood team called ‘Match Cut Club’ and co-wrote a book on India’s World Cup triumphs with Ayaz Memon. Not many know this, but Tom Alter worked as a school teacher in Haryana and even became a cricket coach for his students there.

He was a man of many talents. Besides being an actor par excellence, he was also a columnist, a director, writer and TV host. A fluent speaker of Hindi and English, he was well-versed with Urdu as well. He was known to recite Urdu poetry and his portrayal of Mirza Ghalib in the play ‘Ghalib’ by Pierrot’s Troups is one of the most memorable acts he has performed.

RIP, sir.