Ameen Sayani, the voice behind the iconic greeting on Radio Ceylon’s Bianca Geetmala, passed away at the age of 91 due to a heart attack.
The former radio presenter was born in 1932 and gained fame across the country when he presented his program of hits on Radio Ceylon. He was one of the most imitated announcers in the industry and famous for his iconic style of addressing the crowd with “Behno aur Bhaiyo (sisters and brothers)” as against the traditional ‘Bhaiyo aur Bahno.’ Ameen Sayani produced, compiled and narrated over 54,000 radio programs and 19,000 spots/jingles since 1951.
He passed away at the age of 91 due to a heart attack. The news of his passing was confirmed by his son.
Ameen Sayani Death: Radio presenter dies from heart attack
On Tuesday, February 20, Ameen Sayani died from a heart attack. His son, Rajil Sayani, confirmed the news of his father’s demise. As per reports, the funeral for the former radio presenter will take place on Thursday, February 22. The family is awaiting the arrival of some relatives in Mumbai.
Rajil Sayani shared that his father suffered a cardiac arrest on Tuesday night, after which he was taken to HN Reliance Hospital in Mumbai. Sadly, he passed away and was pronounced dead upon admission. Several actors like Anupam Kher and Manoj Bajpayee took to their social media to pay tribute to him.
In addition to his extensive radio work, Ameen Sayani also made several appearances in movies. These include Bhoot Bungla (1965), Teen Devian (1965), Boxer (1984), and Qatl (1986), portraying the role of an announcer in certain scenes.
He also produced a 13-episode radio series, Swanaash, in the form of plays based on actual HIV/AIDS cases. It included interviews with eminent doctors and social workers. All India Radio commissioned the series, and several NGOs have acquired its audio cassettes for their fieldwork.