Feroz Khan
Biography
Feroz Khan (25 September 1939 – 27 April 2009), born Zulfiqar Ali Shah Khan, was an Indian actor, film editor, producer, and director, who is best known for his work in Indian cinema. He appeared in over 60 films throughout his career and became one of Bollywood's popular style icons.
Khan is best known for his roles in films such as Arzoo (1965), Aurat (1967), Safar (1970), Mela (1971), Upaasna (1971), Apradh (1972), Khotte Sikkay (1974), Kala Sona (1975), Dharmatma (1975), Nagin (1976), Qurbani (1980) and Welcome (2007).
He also directed and acted in films such as Janbaaz (1986), Dayavan (1988), Meet Mere Man Ke (1991), Yalgaar (1992), Prem Aggan (1998), Janasheen (2003). He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Aadmi Aur Insaan in 1970 and was honored with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He is known as Clint Eastwood of India.
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's Oonche Log (1965), where he was pitted against screen idols Raaj Kumar and Ashok Kumar; 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 for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. His other hit films were Safar, Khotey Sikkay, Geeta Mera Naam, Kaala Sona, and Shankar Shambhu He appeared alongside his real-life brother Sanjay Khan in the hit films Upaasna (1971), Mela (1971), and Nagin (1976).
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 Dharmatma, which was the first Indian film to be shot in Afghanistan and was also his first blockbuster hit as producer, director, and star and marked the appearance of actress Hema Malini in a glamorous avatar. This movie was inspired by the Hollywood film The Godfather.
He also starred in the Punjabi film Bhagat Dhanna Jat (1974). In 1980, he produced, directed, and starred in Qurbani, alongside Vinod Khanna and Zeenat Aman, which was the biggest hit of his career and launched the singing career of iconic Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan, with her memorable track "Aap Jaisa Koi".
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.
In 1991, he starred in Meet Mere Man Ke, an outside production which was directed by Mehul Kumar. After directing and starring in Yalgaar (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. In 2003, he produced and directed Janasheen, 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 Welcome. Feroz Khan married Sundari Khan in 1965 and they divorced in 1985.
They have two children, Laila Khan (born 1970) and Fardeen Khan (born 1974). Fardeen is married to Natasha Madhwani, daughter of former Bollywood actress Mumtaz. Mumtaz stated in an interview that Feroz Khan was the most handsome hero in the Hindi film industry.
Feroz Khan died of lung cancer 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 Shia Kabristan.
