There was a quiet honesty about Farooque: Amitabh Bachchan

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan became "very sad" when he heard of the sudden demise of veteran actor Farooq Shaikh, whom he always appreciated for his honesty and zero pretence.

"God! Farooq Shaikh passes away. A true gentleman, a wonderful colleague. A quiet honesty about him. Very very sad," the 71-year-old posted on microblogging website Twitter Saturday.

The star of films like "Umrao Jaan" and "Chashme Buddoor", Farooque breathed his last following a heart attack while he was in Dubai late Friday night. He was 65.

Born March 25, 1948, Sheikh started his Bollywood career in 1973 with the classic "Garam Hava" and later excelled in both parallel and mainstream cinema.

Amitabh said he cannot believe "he has gone".

"There was an absence of any kind of pretence in his demeanour, or towards his work," added Amitabh, who was himself in Dubai Thursday for a jewellery store launch. He returned to Mumbai Friday.