Amjad Khan, born on November 12, 1940, in Bombay, Bombay State, British India, was a renowned Indian actor and film director. He was the son of the actor Jayant and had a successful career in the Indian film industry. Over the course of nearly twenty years, he appeared in more than 132 films, establishing himself as a versatile performer.
Amjad Khan became widely recognized for his portrayal of villainous characters in Hindi films. One of his most iconic roles was that of Gabbar Singh in the legendary 1975 film Sholay. The character of Gabbar Singh, with his menacing presence and unforgettable dialogue delivery, left an indelible mark on Indian cinema. Another notable role was that of Dilawar in the film Muqaddar Ka Sikandar.
Having come from a Sunni Muslim family, Amjad Khan contributed to the diversity of characters and stories in Indian cinema. He demonstrated his acting prowess by successfully portraying a wide range of roles, showcasing his versatility as an artist.
Tragically, in July 1992, at the relatively young age of 51, Amjad Khan passed away due to a heart attack. His untimely demise was a significant loss to the film industry and his fans, as he left behind a remarkable legacy of memorable performances and contributions to Indian cinema.
Age
Amjad Khan was born on November 12, 1940, in Bombay, Bombay State, British India. He was 52 years old at the time of his death. His zodiac sign was Scorpio.
Education
Amjad Khan received his education at St. Andrew's High School in Bandra. After completing his schooling, he enrolled at R. D. National College, where he actively participated in various extracurricular activities. In fact, he held the prestigious position of general secretary, which was the highest elected representative of the student body at the college.
Even during his college and school days, Amjad Khan had a deep passion for theater and acting. He pursued his interest in the performing arts by becoming a theater artist. Alongside his brother, he performed in plays and theatrical productions, showcasing his talent and honing his skills as an actor.
Family
Amjad Khan, born on November 12, 1940, in Bombay, Bombay State, British India, came from a Sunni Muslim family with Pashtun roots. His father, Jayant, hailed from Peshawar in the North-West Frontier Province. Jayant himself was an actor, and he passed down the legacy of the entertainment industry to his sons.
Amjad Khan had a younger brother named Imtiaz Khan, who also ventured into acting. Together, they shared a passion for the performing arts and made notable contributions to the Indian film industry.
Wife
Amjad Khan married Shaila Khan in 1972, and they welcomed their first child, Shadaab Khan, in the following year. They also had a daughter named Ahlam Khan and another son named Seemaab Khan. Ahlam Khan got married to popular theater actor Zafar Karachiwala in 2011.
Career
Amjad Khan began his acting journey in the world of theater before entering the film industry. He made his debut as a child actor at the age of 11 in the film Nazneen in 1951. His next film role came at the age of 17 in Ab Dilli Dur Nahin in 1957. He later worked as an assistant to director K. Asif on the film Love And God in the late 1960s and made a brief appearance in it. Unfortunately, the film remained incomplete after Asif's death in 1971 and was released only in 1986.
In 1973, Amjad Khan had a small role in the film Hindustan Ki Kasam. However, his breakthrough came in 1975 when he was offered the iconic role of the dacoit Gabbar Singh in the film Sholay. The character and his dialogues became legendary, and the film turned out to be a blockbuster. Amjad Khan's portrayal of Gabbar Singh earned him immense popularity, and his dialogues and mannerisms became an integral part of Bollywood culture. He even appeared in advertisements endorsing Britannia Glucose Biscuits as Gabbar Singh.
After the success of Sholay, Amjad Khan continued to play negative roles in numerous Hindi films throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. He often portrayed villains opposite Amitabh Bachchan, becoming immensely popular and surpassing the earlier Indian actor Ajit in terms of demand and popularity. Amjad Khan's versatility was also evident in his portrayal of unconventional roles, such as the helpless monarch Wajid Ali Shah in Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977) and Emperor Akbar in the film Meera (1979).
Apart from acting, Amjad Khan also dabbled in directing. He directed and starred in the films Chor Police (1983) and Ameer Aadmi Gareeb Aadmi (1985). While Chor Police did not fare well, Ameer Aadmi Gareeb Aadmi was a blockbuster at the box office.
Amjad Khan held the position of president of the Actors Guild Association and was highly respected in the film industry. He often intervened and mediated disputes between actors and directors/producers. One notable instance was when he resolved a conflict between Meenakshi Seshadri and Raj Kumar Santoshi during the making of the film Damini (1993), ensuring that Seshadri was reinstated after Santoshi's initial decision to remove her from the project.
Best Works Of Amjad Khan
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), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests, Basanti and Radha, respectively. The music was composed by R D Burman.
The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, in the southern state of Karnataka, over a span of two and a half years. After the Central Board of Film Certification mandated the removal of several violent scenes, Sholay was released with a length of 198 minutes. In 1990, the original director's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media. When first released, Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favorable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, and ran for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre. The film was also an overseas success in the Soviet Union. It was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, and was the highest-grossing film in India up until Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994). By numerous accounts, Sholay remains one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, adjusted for inflation.
Shatranj Ke Khiladi
Shatranj Ke Khilari, also subtitled and later internationally released with the translated title The Chess Players, is a 1977 Indian film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. Amjad Khan plays the role of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, Nawab of Awadh, and Richard Attenborough enacts the role of General James Outram. The main cast includes actors Sanjeev Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey as chess players. It also has Shabana Azmi, Farooque Shaikh, Farida Jalal, David Abraham, and Tom Alter. It has Amitabh Bachchan as the narrator. This is the only full-length Hindi feature film of filmmaker Satyajit Ray. He later made a short Hindi film for TV named Sadgati, another adaptation of Munshi Premchand's short story.
Meera
Gulzar directed the Hindi-language movie Meera in 1979. The movie is based on the life of Hindu saint-poet Meera, who forsook princely luxuries in order to follow her love for Lord Krishna. The film portrays the life and times of Meera from a historical perspective rather than a mythological one. The award-winning playback singer Vani Jairam is featured on Pt. Ravi Shankar's soundtrack.
Mukaddar Ka Sikandar
Muqaddar Ka Sikandar is a 1978 Indian drama film produced and directed by Prakash Mehra, and written by Kader Khan, Vijay Kaul, and Laxmikant Sharma. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, who has worked with Prakash Mehra on five of his nine films to date. Vinod Khanna, Raakhee, Rekha, Ranjeet, and Amjad Khan also have significant roles, and Nirupa Roy and Kader Khan make cameos. The movie tells the tale of Sikandar, an orphan raised in Bombay's slums, who is portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan.The 1917 Bengali novel Devdas served as a loose inspiration for the movie's plot.
The highest-grossing Bollywood movie of 1978 and the all-time Diwali blockbuster was Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. It was also the third highest-grossing Indian film of the decade, after Sholay and Bobby. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was also an overseas blockbuster in the Soviet Union.
It was up for nine Filmfare Awards at the 26th ceremony, including Best Film, but it did not take home any of the prizes. It was remade into the Tamil film Amara Kaaviyam (1981) and the Telugu film Prema Tarangalu (1980)The film marked Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna's final collaboration.r.
Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein
The 1977 drama movie Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein was produced by Nariman Baria and A. Khalia under the Nav Sampathi Productions banner, and it was directed by Meraj. Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, and Jeetendra all appear in the movie, which also features music by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Critics gave it 4 out of 5 stars in Bollywood Guide Collections. The film was critically acclaimed and became an unexpected flop at the box office. However, the movie has developed a cult following over time and has been well received by viewers when it has been screened on television. Welcome to Sajjanpur, a film inspired by Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, became a hit at the box office in 2008.
Amjad Khan’s family is of Afghani-Pashtun descent.
Before coming to film, Amjad was a theatre actor.
When Amjad Khan was only 11 years old, he appeared as a Child Actor in the film Nazneen (1951) and after that, Amjad made appearances in minor roles with his father Jayant in a few films.
While studying in college, Amjad was the General Secretary of the Student Union.
Amjad Khan's portrayal of Gabbar Singh is considered the first depiction of pure evil in Indian Cinema
Amjad Khan was also the Assistant Director of Sholay and handled the Second Unit.
Even to this day, Amjad Khan’s mannerisms and dialogue deliveries are fondly remembered by the people.
After the success of Sholay, Amjad Khan continued to play negative roles in many Hindi Films in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.
Amjad Khan also dubbed a song for the film Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977).
Amjad Khan reprised his role of Gabbar Singh in the 1991 film- Ramgarh Ke Sholay, a parody of the legendary film.
Amjad Khan had also served as president of the Actors Guild Association.
Amjad Khan was a teetotaler. However, his friends such as R. D. Burman often visited his home with their whiskey bottles.
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Amjad Khan, born on November 12, 1940, in Bombay, Bombay State, British India, was a renowned Indian actor and film director. He was the son of the actor Jayant and had a successful career in the Indian film industry. Over the course of nearly twenty years, he appeared in more than 132 films, establishing himself as a versatile performer.
Muqaddar Ka Sikandar is a 1978 Indian drama film produced and directed by Prakash Mehra, and written by Kader Khan, Vijay Kaul, and Laxmikant Sharma. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, who has worked with Prakash Mehra on five of his nine films to date. Vinod Khanna, Raakhee, Rekha, Ranjeet, and Amjad Khan also have significant roles, and Nirupa Roy and Kader Khan make cameos. The movie tells the tale of Sikandar, an orphan raised in Bombay's slums, who is portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan.The 1917 Bengali novel Devdas served as a loose inspiration for the movie's plot.
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