Agha (21 March 1914 – 30 April 1992) was an Indian actor of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films. He was known for comic roles and modeled himself on Bob Hope's style of acting. He appeared in over 300 Hindi films in his career between 1935 and 1986. His son,

Jalal Agha Jalal Agha (11 July 1945 – 5 March 1995) was an Indian actor and director in Bollywood films. He was the son of the popular comedian actor Agha. Jalal studied acting at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Career He made his d ...

, also became an actor, mostly known for the song ''Mehbooba Mehbooba'' in ''

Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), ...

'' (1975).

Early life

Agha Beg was born on 21 March 1914 at Fatima Nagar, Pune,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His father was originally from Iran and had settled in Pune but had to leave Pune for Bombay in search of employment Agha confessed that he went to school for just three days, "that was as long as I could stand it". He spent time "mooching" around the Poona Race Course as he wanted to become a jockey and loved horses. Agha came to Bombay and joined his neighbourhood drama group. His interest in acting took him to films where in 1933 he started as a production manager in Kanwal Movietone.

Career

Agha's first film was Kanwal Movietone's ''Stree Dharma'', also called ''Painted Sin'' (1935), starring Mehtab and Nazir. However, his films ''Karwan-e-Husn'' (1935),

Wadia Movietone Wadia Movietone was a noted Indian film production company and studio based in Mumbai, established in 1933 by Wadia brothers J. B. H. Wadia and Homi Wadia. It was most known for stunt, fantasy and mythological films, including ''Hunterwali'' (1 ...

's ''Rangila Mazdoor'' (1938) and '' Anuradha'' (1940) helped him gain recognition as a comic actor. He acted in Kikubhai Desai's (

Manmohan Desai Manmohan Desai (26 February 1937 – 1 March 1994) was an Indian film producer and director. He was one of the most successful filmmaker of the 70s and 80s. Desai is now considered one of most influential film director of Bollywood and a pionee ...

's father) ''Circus Ki Sundari'' (1941), which was popular and this helped in getting lead roles in films such as ''

Muqabala ''Muqabala'' is a 1942 Indian action drama film directed by Batuk Bhatt and Babubhai Mistri, and starring Fearless Nadia, Yakub, Agha, Dalpat, Srinivas and Rajni. Batuk Bhatt started his career as a director by co-directing this film and '' ...

'' (1942), ''Laheri Cameraman'' (1944) and ''Taxi Driver'' (1944). His most active years were from the 1930s to the 1980s.

Filmography

Selected list.

Death

Agha died on 30 April 1992 of a heart attack in Pune, Maharashtra, India at the age of 78. He was survived by three daughters, one son

and Son-in-law actor

Tinnu Anand Tinu Anand (born Virender Raj Anand, 12 October 1945) is an Indian actor, director, writer and producer in Hindi cinema and a few Telugu and Tamil films. Early life He is the son of veteran writer Inder Raj Anand, brother of producer Bittu An ...

.Profile of Agha
Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation website, Retrieved 11 February 2022

Awards

He was nominated for the

Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the awards start ...

for the 1960 film '' Ghunghat'', but did not win the award.

References

External links

* 20th-century Indian male actors 1914 births 1992 deaths Male actors in Hindi cinema Indian male comedians Film producers from Maharashtra Male actors from Pune 20th-century comedians {{India-film-actor-stub