'Pioneer of method acting' Roshan Taneja dies at the age of 87May 11 (AZINS) Acting guru Roshan Taneja breathed his last the previous night. He died in his sleep at the age of 87. "My father passed away last night (Friday) at 9.30 p.m. in his sleep at home after a prolonged illness," the acting guru's son Rohit Taneja confirmed the news to IANS.

Roshan Taneja, also known as the 'pioneer of method acting', has huge respect in the Hindi film industry. He first trained students at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), post which he began his own acting school called Roshan Taneja School of Acting. The acting school was based in Mumbai.

He trained the likes of Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Jaya Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Shatrughan Sinha. Most of these actors were trained at FTII, and a few from them are retired and excelling at their own field. Naseeruddin Shah, for example, appears in fewer movies and is taking care of panels across India. Similar is the case with Shabana Azmi. While Anil Kapoor grows younger with each passing day and continues his acting career, Jaya Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha have found support in politics.

Shabana Azmi was also one of the few to offer her condolences to the family via her tweet. She wrote, "Late last night came the sad news that Roshan Taneja 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."

Roshan Taneja is survived by his wife Mithika and sons Rohit and Rahul Taneja. Roshan's cremation will be held at 4.30 pm today in electric crematorium, Santacruz West. A few celebrities are expected to turn up at the crematorium grounds.