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Amjad Khan (actor)

Amjad Khan
AmjadKhan.jpg
Native name امجد خان
अमजद ख़ान
Born Amjad Zakaria Khan
(1940-11-12)12 November 1940
Peshawar, British India
Died 27 July 1992(1992-07-27) (aged 51)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Occupation Film actor, director
Years active 1965–1992
Known for Gabbar Singh

Amjad Zakaria Khan (12 November 1940 – 27 July 1992) was an Indian actor and director. He worked in over 130 films in a career spanning nearly twenty years. He enjoyed popularity for his villainous roles in Hindi films, the most famous being the iconic Gabbar Singh in the 1975 classic Sholay and of Dilawar in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978).

Amjad Khan was born in Peshawar, British India to legendary actor Jayant. He was of Pashtun decent.

His brothers are actors Imtiaz Khan and Inayat Khan. Inayat acted in only one film but Imtiaz did act in a few more.

Khan was educated at St.Andrew's High School, in Bandra. He attended R D National College where he was the general secretary, the highest elected student body representative.

Before Amjad Khan came to films he was a theatre actor. His first role was in the film Nazneen (1951). His next role was at the age of 17 in the film Ab Dilli Dur Nahin (1957). He made appearances in minor roles with father Jayant in a few films. He assisted K. Asif in 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 ended up releasing in 1986. In 1973 he made his debut as an adult in Hindustan Ki Kasam.

In 1975 he was offered the role of dacoit Gabbar Singh for the film Sholay by Salim Khan who was one of its writers. In preparation for the role, Amjad read Abhishapth Chambal, a book on Chambal dacoits written by Taroon Kumar Bhaduri (actress Jaya Bhaduri's father). Amjad shot to stardom with the movie. His portrayal of Gabbar Singh is considered by many to be the first depiction of pure evil in Indian Cinema. His mannerisms and dialogues have become an integral part of Bollywood lexicon and spawned numerous parodies and spoofs. Sholay went on to become a blockbuster. Although it boasted an ensemble cast of superstars including Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjeev Kumar, who was nominated that year for the Filmfare award for Best Actor category, Amjad stole the show with his unorthodox and eerie dialogue delivery. Even to this day people fondly remember his dialogues and mannerisms. He later appeared in advertisements as Gabbar Singh endorsing Britannia Glucose Biscuits (popularly known as Gabbar Ki Asli Pasand), the first incidence of a villain being used to sell a popular product.


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