Feroz Khan (born Zulfiqar Ali Shah Khan; 25 September 1939 — 27 April 2009) was an Indian actor,

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

, producer and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

best known for his work in

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

. He appeared in over 60 films throughout his career and became one of Bollywood's popular style icons.'Feroz Khan was an Indian style icon'
R G Vijayasarathy in Bengaluru, Rediff.com, 27 April 2009. Feroz Khan is known for his roles in successful

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

films, such as '' Arzoo'' (1965), ''

Safar Safar (), also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Most of the Islamic months were named according to ancient Sabean/Sabaic weather conditions; however, since the calendar is lunar, the months shift ...

'' (1970), '' Upaasna'' (1971), '' Mela'' (1971), '' Apradh'' (1972), '' Khotte Sikkay'' (1974), ''

Kaala Sona ''Kaala Sona'' () is a 1975 Hindi-language curry Western film produced by Harish Shah and Vinod Shah and directed by Ravikant Nagaich. The film stars Feroz Khan, Parveen Babi, Prem Chopra, Farida Jalal, Danny Denzongpa, Helen, Durga Kho ...

'' (1975), ''

Dharmatma ''Dharmatma'' () is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language thriller film produced and directed by Feroz Khan. The cast includes Khan, Hema Malini, Rekha, Premnath, Imtiaz Khan, Danny Denzongpa, Farida Jalal, Ranjeet, Helen, Madan Puri, Jeevan, ...

'' (1975), '' Nagin'' (1976), '' Qurbani'' (1980), '' Kachche Heere'' (1982), '' Janbaaz'' (1986), '' Dayavan'' (1988), ''

Yalgaar ''Yalgaar'' is a 1992 Indian Hindi-language action crime thriller film directed by Feroz Khan (actor), Feroz Khan. The film stars Khan himself, Sanjay Dutt, Kabir Bedi, Nagma, Manisha Koirala, Vicky Arora, Mukesh Khanna, Deepti Naval and Neena ...

'' (1992), ''

Welcome A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. Overview In ...

'' (2007). He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for '' Aadmi Aur Insaan'' (1969) in 1970, and was honored with the

Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, initially named Raj Kapoor Award for Lifetime Achievement after Raj Kapoor is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. List of honourees † - Indicates ...

in 2000.Bollywood's style icon Feroz Khan is dead
''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...

'', 27 April 2009 He has been called "the

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

of the East".

Early life

Feroz Khan was born on 25 September 1939 in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, India, to Sadiq Ali Khan, an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

from

Ghazni Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and Fatima, who had

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

ancestry from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. His mother's family dealt in

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

. His younger brothers are Shah Abbas Khan (Sanjay Khan), Shahrukh Shah Ali Khan, Sameer Khan and Akbar Khan. Apart from Shahrukh, all other brothers would be associated with the entertainment industry. His younger sisters are Khurshid Shahnavar and Dilshad Begum Sheikh, popularly known as Dilshad Bibi. Khan was educated at

Bishop Cotton Boys' School Bishop Cotton Boys' School is an all-boys school for boarders and day scholars in Bengaluru, India, founded in the memory of Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta. The school is bordered by Residency Road, St Mark's Road, L ...

and St. Germain High School,

. Describing himself as a "rebel", he was kicked out from three schools, and never went to college, despite clearing his Senior Cambridge examinations, as he moved to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

(now Mumbai) to pursue a film career. He made his debut as the second lead in ''Didi'' in 1960.

Career

1960s: Early works and success in supporting roles

Through the early 1960s and 1970s, he made low-budget thrillers opposite starlets. In 1962, he appeared in an English-language film titled '' Tarzan Goes to India'' opposite Simi Garewal. His first big hit was in 1965, with

Phani Majumdar Phani Majumdar was a pioneering Indian film director, who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema, most known for his film ''Street Singer (1938 film), Street Singer'' (1938) starring K.L. Saigal noted for its song, ''Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Jaye'' ...

's '' Oonche Log'' (1965), where he was pitted against screen idols Raaj Kumar and

Ashok Kumar Ashok Kumar (born Kumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first Super-st ...

; he gave a notable sensitive performance. It was followed by more small budget hit films like ''Samson'', ''Ek Sapera Ek Lootera'' and ''Char Darvesh''. Again, in the same year, he played a sacrificing lover in the mushy musical '' Arzoo'', starring Sadhana. With this, Khan started to receive A-list second leads. With the film '' Aadmi Aur Insaan'' (1969), Khan won his first

Filmfare award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. His other hit films were ''

'', '' Khotey Sikkay'', '' Geeta Mera Naam'', ''

'' and '' Shankar Shambhu.'' He appeared alongside his real-life brother

Sanjay Khan Sanjay Khan (born as Shah Abbas Ali Khan, 3 January 1940) is an Indian actor, producer and director known for his works in Hindi films and television. Sanjay Khan made his debut in Rajshri Productions, Rajshri film ''Dosti (1964 film), Dosti'' ...

in the hit films '' Upaasna'' (1971), '' Mela'' (1971) and '' Nagin'' (1976).

1970s-1980s: Popularity as director-producer

He became a successful producer and director in 1971 so as to improve his career opportunities as a leading man with his first directorial film '' Apradh'', which was the first Indian movie showing auto racing in Germany; Mumtaaz was his co-star. He produced, directed and starred in the 1975 film ''

'', which was the first Indian film to be shot in

and was also his first blockbuster hit as producer, director and star and marked the appearance of actress

Hema Malini Hema Malini Dharmendra Deol (born 16 October 1948; ) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician who is currently serving as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Mathura constituency since 2 ...

in a glamorous avatar. This movie was inspired by the Hollywood film ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

''. He also starred in the Punjabi film ''Bhagat Dhanna Jat'' (1974). In 1980, he produced, directed and starred in '' Qurbani'', alongside

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema. Recognised as a style and fashion icon, he wa ...

and Zeenat Aman, which was the biggest hit of his career and launched the singing career of iconic Pakistani pop singer

Nazia Hassan Nazia Hassan (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, lawyer, political analyst and philanthropist. Referred to as the " Queen of South Asian Pop", she is considered one of the most influential singers in South Asia ...

, with her memorable track " Aap Jaisa Koi".Feroz Khan lived life king size
''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

''. 27 April 2009. In 1986, he directed and starred in '' Janbaaz'', a box office hit, which some consider to be one of his best movies, featured an all-star cast and possessed great songs and excellent cinematography. In 1988, he directed and starred in '' Dayavan'', which was a remake of an Indian Tamil film titled '' Nayakan''.

1990s: Decline and retirement from acting

In 1991, he starred in ''Meet Mere Man Ke'', an outside production which was directed by

Mehul Kumar Mohammed Ibrahim Baloch (or Bloch; born 1949), better known as Mehul Kumar, is an Indian filmmaker and writer in Bollywood.Yalgaar ''Yalgaar'' is a 1992 Indian Hindi-language action crime thriller film directed by Feroz Khan (actor), Feroz Khan. The film stars Khan himself, Sanjay Dutt, Kabir Bedi, Nagma, Manisha Koirala, Vicky Arora, Mukesh Khanna, Deepti Naval and Neena ...

'' (1992), he took a long break from acting for 11 years. He launched his son Fardeen Khan's career with the 1998 film '' Prem Aggan'', which, however, was a box office bomb.

2000s: Return to acting through character roles

In 2003, he produced and directed ''

Janasheen ''Janasheen'' () is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language romantic action thriller film co-written, edited, produced and directed by Feroz Khan who stars along with his son, Fardeen Khan, and Celina Jaitly in her film debut. It was partly shot in Afgh ...

'', also starring alongside his son Fardeen. This film marked his return to acting after 11 years and was also the last film he directed. Apart from sports cars, he also used performing animals in his films — a chimpanzee and lion were used in ''Janasheen''. He starred alongside his son again in an outside production '' Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena'' in 2005. He made his last film appearance in the 2007 comedy film ''

'', co-starring with

Nana Patekar Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, film maker, mainly working in Hindi language, Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi cinema. Widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential actors ...

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, in addition to Indian television and international films. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a ...

Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has Paresh Rawal filmography, appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient of various L ...

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

Katrina Kaif Katrina Kaif (; born Katrina Rosemary Turcotte, 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received numerous accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee C ...

and Mallika Sherawat. Initially reluctant, Khan had finally agreed to do the role. Welcome eventually became a massive success, and Khan's dialogue ''Abhi Hum Zinda Hai''(meaning I am Still Alive) became largely popular among masses.

Personal life

Family

Feroz Khan married Sundari Khan in 1965 and they divorced in 1985. She hailed from a Sindhi Hindu background. They had two children, Laila Khan (born 1970) and Fardeen Khan (born 1974): Laila is married to businessman Farhan Furniturewala, Pooja Bedi's ex-husband, while Fardeen is married to Natasha Madhwani, daughter of former Bollywood actress Mumtaz. Mumtaz has stated in an interview that Feroz Khan was the most handsome hero in Hindi film industry. In May 2006, Khan was a subject of major controversy while invited to visit Pakistan. In his remark, Khan stated "I am a proud Indian. India is a secular country. Muslims there are making lot of progress. Our President is a Muslim, Prime Minister a Sikh. Pakistan was made in the name of Islam but look how the Muslims are killing each other. I have not come here on my own. I was invited to come. Our films are so powerful that your government could not stop them for long." The remarks did not go well with then

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

, who subsequently stated that Khan will not be issued a visa to Pakistan again.

Hobbies

Feroz Khan's hobbies included horses, being a horse breeder and also participating in

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

, as well

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

, himself organizing competitions. During his last years, his other hobbies included reading

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

books and writing poetry.

Illness, Death and Funeral

Right after success of his son Fardeen's movie No Entry, Khan invited Anees Bazmee for dinner, who convinced him to do

. During the meeting, Khan displayed signs of lung cancer but kept it to himself then and during the shoot, which was revealed by Bazmee in an interview in 2024. Khan died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on 27 April 2009. He was undergoing treatment at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai, but expressed his desire to visit his farmhouse in Bangalore. Accordingly, he was brought here, where he died at around 1 a.m. He was buried in Bangalore near his mother's grave at

Hosur Road Hosur Road is the part of National Highway 48, erstwhile NH44, which connects metropolis Bengaluru and industrial City Hosur. It is a four to eight-lane access controlled highway. The road is part of the National Highway network. The Nati ...

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Kabristan.

Awards and nominations

* Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for '' Aadmi Aur Insaan'' (1971) * BFJA Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Aadmi Aur Insaan'' (1971) *

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

Nomination as Best Supporting Actor for ''

'' (1971) *

Nomination as Best Supporting Actor for '' International Crook'' (1975) *

in 2001 *

Nomination as Best Villain for ''

'' (2004) *

IIFA Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role IIFA may refer to: * Independent Indoor Football Alliance, American indoor football league based in the state of Texas * International Indian Film Academy, organization for professionals in the Hindi language film industry *International Islamic Fi ...

in 2004 * Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008 * "Pride of the industry" at the Max

Stardust Awards The Stardust Awards was an award ceremony for Hindi movies, which was sponsored by '' Stardust'' magazine. Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. The first ceremony was held in 2004 for films released in 2003. The ...

2009.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Feroz 1939 births 2009 deaths Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors from Bengaluru Indian male film actors Indian male television actors Indian male voice actors Indian people of Afghan descent Indian people of Iranian descent Indian television presenters Bishop Cotton Boys' School alumni Deaths from lung cancer in India Hindi-language film directors Male actors in Kannada television 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian people Film directors from Bengaluru Hindi film producers Film producers from Bengaluru Indian Shia Muslims International Indian Film Academy Awards winners Filmfare Awards winners Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners