Sajid Khan (1951-2023) was an Indian actor and singer. He was adopted by Bollywood film producer Mehboob Khan, who founded Mehboob Studios. Sajid became a celebrity in North America and the Philippines in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Wiki/Biography
Sajid Mehboob was born on Friday, December 28, 1951, in Bombay, Bombay State, India (age 71 years; time of death). His zodiac sign is Capricorn. Sajid grew up in a poor slum in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. Mehboob Khan found him when he was looking for a naughty young actor to play Chhote Birju in his 1957 film Mother India. His assistant Chimankant Gandhi failed to find a suitable young man. Then a martial arts master named “Douglas” recommended Sajid for the role. Chimankant visited Sajid’s home and was shocked by young Sajid’s intelligence and fearlessness. Mehboob Khan was initially unsure but eventually cast Sajid for the role of Chhote Birju after being attracted by his mischievous behavior and stories.
Sajid Khan childhood photos
appearance
Hair color: black
Eye color: amber
family
Parents and siblings
Indian producer and director Mehboob Khan is his adoptive father. Indian actress Sardar Akhtar is his adoptive mother.
Photos of Mehboob Khan
Photos of Sardar Akhtar
Young Sajid Khan with producer-director Mehboob Khan, his wife Sardar Akhtar and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nepal Group photo of Jawaharlal Nehru
wife and children
Sajid Khan divorced his first wife in 1990 and married a second time. He has a son named Samir.
Relationships/Affairs
Sajid Khan dated veteran Indian actress Rekha in the late 1960s.
Profession
Movie
Sajid started acting in films at a young age. He played the younger version of Sunil Dutt’s Birju character in Mehboob Khan’s 1957 Academy Award-nominated Hindi film Mother India. Thereafter, Mehboob Khan and his wife Sardar Akhtar raised him and named him Sajid Khan.
Sajid Khan in a still from the movie “Mother India”
In 1962, he appeared in the film “Son of India”, which was his father’s last film. The film failed miserably at the box office. However, critics praised Sajid’s performance. After his father’s death in 1964, Sajid moved to the United States to complete his higher education.
Movie “Son of India” poster
Sajid Khan and Jay North became household names in the United States for their roles in the 1966 film Maya. Due to the film’s popularity, NBC soon produced a television series of the same name, which aired from September 1967 to February 1968, with a total of 18 episodes.
Sajid Khan as “Raji” in Mayan, circa (1967)
Newspaper publishes “Maya” success story
Sajid Khan with Jay North and Cowsills
Sajid Khan achieved success in the Philippines in the early 1970s, starring in romantic comedy films with popular actresses Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos. Some of the films he appeared in during this period include “The Singing Filipino,” “My Funny Girl,” and “The Prince and Me” with Nora Honore.
Sajid Khan and Nora Honor
However, Khan’s career began to decline in the early 1970s, when he reportedly opened a retail store in India called Artistic, which housed a small workshop for making costume jewelry.
Sajid Khan in the early 1970s
Despite several attempts to re-enter the Hindi film industry, from 1972 to 1983, none of his Hindi films were a financial success. During this period, he appeared in several films such as “The Mahatma and the Madman” (1974), “Zindagi Aur Toofan” (1975), “Mandir Masjid” (1977) and “Dahshat” (1981). Although he had more success in British films, the peak of his career was between 1966 and 1974.
Movie “Mandir Masjid” (1977) poster
He last appeared in Merchant Ivory’s Heat and Dust in 1983, playing a brief, silent role as the “bandit leader”.
Movie “Heat and Dust” (1983) poster
singer
Sajid Khan is not only an actor but also a singer. In 1969, he released an album of the same name and had a brief career as a singer. The album includes songs such as “A Song Inside”, “Everything is You”, “Moon River”, “I Love How You Love Me”, “This Guy’s in Love With You”, “Dream”, “Smile”, ” A closed heart gathers no love,” “One Day,” “Ha Ram (Love and Peace),” and “Knowing You.”
Sajid Khan on the cover of his music album
Sajid’s songs have become popular in Japan, where his American records have also been released. Additionally, he recorded a Japanese single for RCA Records. The titles of the singles are “Sinpi No Hosei” and “Teniha Gitter Wo” (translated as “Mysterious Star” and “Guitar in Hand”).
Sajid Khan on the cover of his Japanese music album Dream Someday
television
In 1968, Sajid Khan guest-starred in an episode of the TV series “The Big Valley” and served as a guest judge on the music program “It’s Happening”.
Sajid Khan in TV series stills
In 2000, he appeared in the TV series “1857 Kranti”.
prize
In 1969, he won the Best Actor Award at the 9th Tinner Awards Ceremony.
From LR- Ellen Janov (Best Actress), Bill Cowsill for The Cowsills (Best Group), Sajid (Best Actor) and Merrilee Rush (Best Female Vocalist)
die
He died on December 22, 2023 in Kerala, India. He has cancer. After Sajid Khan’s death, his only son Sameer revealed that his father had settled in Kerala with his second wife and was buried in Kayamkulam town in Alappuzha district of Kerala Juma Mosque. Samir said,
My father was adopted by Rajkumar Pitamber Rana and Sunita Pitamber and raised by film producer Mehboob Khan. He was not active in the film industry for some time and was mainly engaged in philanthropy. He used to come to Kerala frequently, he liked it here, remarried and settled here. “
Sajid Khan
Facts/Trivia
- In the 1960s, Sajid became the subject of covers and articles in famous magazines in the United States, France, Japan, Mexico, Germany and Thailand for “Maya”, and briefly gained a reputation as a “teen idol”.
Sajid Khan on the cover of Mexican magazine
- Actress Rekha reportedly encountered difficulties in the Indian film industry in the late 1960s because she was South Indian and had strong English skills but was not fluent in Hindi. Since then, she has noticed a change in English TV series and films with Indian themes, such as “The Jungle Book” and “Mayans.” She invited Mayans producer Sajid Khan and asked for roles in international films. He tried, but couldn’t get her a small role. However, Rekha made her Bollywood film debut in 1970 with Sawan Bhadon, which went on to become a hit and launched her career in Bollywood.
- In 1969, Billboard ranked his single “Getting to Know You” at No. 8 and “Dream” at No. 19.
Sajid Khan sings in live show
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education