Do you remember the evergreen number ‘Jaag dil-e-deewana’ from ‘Oonche Log’? Mohammad Rafi’s unforgettable song was immortalised on the marquee by a young, dapper and debonair actor. He was Feroz Khan.
Khan appeared in films like ‘Hum Sab Chor Hain’ (1956), ‘Zamana’ (1957) and ‘Bade Sarkar’ (1957). He was cast as the second lead in the film ‘Didi’ in 1959. But it was Phani Majumdar’s ‘Oonche Log’ that got him success in the real sense and as well as garner a foothold in the film industry.
Born to an Afghan father from Ghazni and an Iranian mother with Persian ancestry, class and elitism were writ large not just on his face but on everything that he did. A majestic and imperious style helped him stand out at a time when he was as talented and good-looking, rather chocolaty, as his contemporaries — Rajendra Kumar, Biswajeet, Pradeep Kumar, Dharmendra and Joy Mukherjee, among others. But none of them had Khan’s regal touch and demeanor. He had a unique ruggedness to his persona. Confidence came naturally to him. He was never in awe of any actor. Even when he was new to the film industry, he refused to get cowed down by anyone. While acting with veterans like Ashok Kumar and Raj Kumar in the movie, ‘Oonche Log’, Khan wasn’t intimidated by the latter’s high-handed attitude.
Khan appeared in over 60 films throughout his career. Since he had an overwhelming and imposing aura, his acting prowess didn’t get much of an attention. Nonetheless, he was a good actor, if not excellent and was known as the ‘Clint Eastwood of India’.
By 1971, Khan became a successful producer and director, perhaps to save his career opportunities as a leading man. His first directorial ‘Apradh’ was the first Indian movie to showcase auto racing in Germany. He played the lead opposite Mumtaz.
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. ‘Dharmatma’ was inspired by the Hollywood film ‘The Godfather’. 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 the iconic Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan, with her memorable track ‘Aap jaisa koi meri zindagi mein aaye’.
Palatial houses, fancy foreign locales, horse races, sleek cars and sensuous women were a regular feature in most of Khan’s films. Much like James Bond, he also had the equivalent of Bond women, be it Zeenat Aman in ‘Qurbani’, Hema Malini in ‘Dharmatma’, Sridevi in ‘Janbaaz’ or Celina Jaitley in ‘Janasheen’.
Khan always called a spade a spade. Back in 2006, when the then president of Pakistan, Gen Pervez Musharraf had banned Khan from entering Pakistan after his reported anti-Pakistan remarks at a function in Lahore, he remained unfazed. This classic nonchalance made him classy. Though ostensibly he cared for none, he was a caring man who would talk gently to spot officers and help them financially. He was a super-suave actor who was never uncouth and supercilious despite his haughty image. The ever-ebullient Feroz Khan left an indelible impression on Bollywood and whoever he met. His natural aristocracy floored everyone.