Amjad Khan (actor)

Amjad Khan (21 October 1943 – 27 July 1992) was a renowned Indian actor and film director. He worked in over 132 films in a career spanning nearly twenty years. He was the son of the actor Jayant. He gained popularity for villainous roles in mostly Hindi films, the most famous among his enacted roles being Gabbar Singh in the 1975 film '' Sholay'' and of Dilawar in '' Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'' (1978).

Early life and education

Amjad Khan was born in Bombay, Bombay State, British India on 12 November 1940 into a family of Khalil Pashtuns descent to actor Jayant, who was originally from Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). His younger brother Imtiaz Khan was also an actor.

Amjad Khan was educated at St. Andrew's High School in Bandra. He then attended R. D. National College where he held the position of general secretary. During his college and school days, he worked as a theater artist and performed in his college with his brother. Later, he earned his master's in philosophy (first class) from Bombay University and used to win prizes both as actor and as director at the inter-collegiate theatre festivals. Apart from English and Urdu, Amjad Khan was also fluent in Persian, having done another master's in Persian literature, and he would help his wife for her exams in this subject.

Career

Early career (1951-1975)

Before Amjad Khan came to films, he was a theatre actor. His first role was as a child actor at the age of 11 in the film '' Nazneen'' in 1951. His next role was at the age of 17 in the film '' Ab Dilli Dur Nahin'' (1957). He assisted K. Asif in the film '' Love And God'' in the late 1960s and had a brief appearance in the film. The film was left incomplete after Asif's death in 1971, and it was finally released in 1986. In 1973, he appeared in '' Hindustan Ki Kasam'' in a small role.

''Sholay'' (1975) and beyond

In 1975, Khan was offered the role of dacoit Gabbar Singh for the film '' Sholay'' by one of its writers, Salim Khan. In preparation for the role, he read ''Abhishapth Chambal'', a book on Chambal dacoits written by Taroon Kumar Bhaduri (actress Jaya Bhaduri's father). ''Sholay'' went on to become a blockbuster.

After the success of ''Sholay'', Khan continued to play negative roles in many subsequent Hindi films in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s – superseding, in terms of popularity and demand, the earlier Indian actor, Ajit. He often acted as villain opposite Amitabh Bachchan as the hero. His role in '' Inkaar'' was also presented in terrifying manner. He made his presence felt in '' Des Pardes'', '' Nastik'', '' Satte Pe Satta'', '' Chambal Ki Kasam'', '' Ganga Ki Saugandh'', '' Hum Kisise Kum Nahin'' and '' Naseeb''.

Khan was also acclaimed for playing many unconventional roles. In the critically acclaimed film '' Shatranj Ke Khiladi'' (1977) (based on the novel of the same title), by Munshi Premchand and directed by Satyajit Ray, Khan played the helpless and deluded monarch Wajid Ali Shah, whose kingdom, Avadh, is being targeted by British colonialists from the British East India Company. It is the only movie in which he dubbed a song. In 1979, he portrayed Emperor Akbar in the film '' Meera''. He played many positive roles such as in '' Yaarana'' (1981) and '' Laawaris'' (1981) as Amitabh's friend and father respectively, ''Rocky'' (1981) and ''Commander'' (1981). In the art film '' Utsav'' (1984), he portrayed Vatsayana, the author of the ''Kama Sutra''. In 1988, he appeared in the Merchant Ivory English language film '' The Perfect Murder'' as an underworld don. He excelled at playing comical characters in films such as '' Qurbani'' (1980), '' Love Story'' and '' Chameli Ki Shaadi'' (1986). In 1991, he reprised his role as Gabbar Singh in '' Ramgarh Ke Sholay'', a parody of the legendary film which included look-alikes of Dev Anand and Amitabh Bachchan.

Directorial work

He ventured into directing for a brief period in the 1980s, directing and starring in '' Chor Police'' (1983) and '' Ameer Aadmi Gareeb Aadmi'' (1985), both of the films did not do well at the box office.

Other work

Amjad was the president of the Actors Guild Association.

Personal life and death

Relationships and family

In 1972, he married Shaila Khan, the daughter of Urdu poet and screenwriter Akhtar ul Iman, and in the following year, she gave birth to their first child, Shadaab Khan, who would later join the entertainment industry. He also had a daughter, Ahlam Khan, an actress and screenwriter, and another son, Seemab Khan, who is a club cricketer. Ahlam married popular theatre actor Zafar Karachiwala in 2011.

Literature and philosophy

Amjad Khan was fond of literature and philosophy, having studied the subject, often quoting English poets such as Keats, Byron, Wordsworth, Shelley as well ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.

Accident

On 15 October 1976, Amjad Khan met with a serious accident on the Mumbai-Goa highway which left him with broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was going to participate in the shooting of the film '' The Great Gambler'', starring Amitabh Bachchan.

Last years

Amjad Khan was passionate about badminton and bull-work but, following another accident, he was diagnosed with Bell's palsy in 1984. This led to a course of steroid treatment which, combined with his poor eating habits, caused excessive weight gain that negatively affected both his health and his film career.

On 27 July 1992, he died of a heart attack. He was 51. His death was attributed to a myocardial infarction.

References

External links

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Amjad Khan biography
(archived 14 May 2013)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Amjad
1940 births
1992 deaths
Indian male film actors
Film directors from Mumbai
Pashtun actors
Indian people of Pashtun descent
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Hindi-language film directors
20th-century Indian male actors
Filmfare Awards winners