Remembering Feroz Khan On His 79th Birth Anniversary

Feroz Khan, the man who gave Bollywood a taste of Spaghetti Westerns, is synonymous with stylish cinema. As the poncho-clad gun-wielder in Khhotte Sikkay, or the righteous cop in Jaanbaaz, or the loud gangsta RDX in Welcome, the Pathan was all class. Interestingly, having won the Filmfare Best Debut Award (Didi, 1960), Khan was never known for great acting skill.

At 20, Feroz Khan made his first screen appearance in the Sunil Dutt starrer Didi (1960). His very first scene proved prophetic Lalita Pawar sagely told him, "Kamyabi na-kamyabi, tumhare bas ki baat nahee. Tum apne maqsad ke saath sachhe raho." Feroz did just that; he had to struggle for the next decade-and-a-half before making it big. Feroz Khan's younger brother, Sanjay Khan's chocolate good-looks had got him big-banner films earlier than Feroz. However, fans always rooted for the underdog. When Sanjay and Feroz starred together in Mela and Upaasna, Sanjay got the heroine (Mumtaz) but Feroz, in critics' opinion, stole the thunder. Feroz Khan's definitive blockbuster Qurbani brought in the 1980s with its snazzy action sequences and its disco-era soundtrack (Aap jaisa koi) flavoured by Nazia Hassan's bubblegum pop. Feroz actively cultivated his image of a whacky man with flamboyance to spare.

Feroz Khan projected his heroines as veritable glamour queens, perennially sporting bikinis whether it was Mumtaz in Apradh, Zeenat Aman in Qurbani, Nagma in Yalgaar, Celina Jaitley in Janasheen. Unfortunately, after the 90s, Khan wooed women more successfully than he wooed Dame Fortune at the box-office (Yalgaar, Prem Aggan, Janasheen).

Several actor-directors of his time didn't bat an eyelid before casting themselves for the lead role, but Feroz Khan had no issues casting other heroes. Of the six films he directed during the peak of his stardom, Feroz played the lead in only two. While the virile Vinod Khanna was the face of Qurbani and Dayavan, Khan gladly shared credits with younger actors like Anil Kapoor (Jaanbaaz) and Sanjay Dutt (Yalgaar).

Apart from his stylised looks, memorable dialogues were also key to Khan's popularity. Nothing beats this gem from 'Qurbani' (1980) "Bhagwaan to ho nahi sakte, Insaan to lagte nahi, aur shaitaan se mein nahi darta." Feroz Khan died at his Bangalore farmhouse at 1 am on April 27, 2009. He was 70 and was battling cancer for over a year. His son Fardeen and daughter-in-law Natasha were with him in his last moments.